The EU Labour Force Survey data for the first quarter of 2021 published by Eurostat on Thursday showed that the seasonally adjusted employment rate of people aged 20-64 in the EU stood at 71.9%.
The labour market slack, which comprises all people who have an unmet need for employment, amounted to 14.8% of the extended labour force aged 20-64 in the first quarter of 2021.
Unemployment stood at 7.1% of the extended labour force. The underemployed part-time workers made up 3.0%, those available for work but not searching for work were 4.1%, and those actively searching for work but not available to take up work stood at 0.7%.
Among the Member States, the highest employment rates in the first quarter of 2021 were recorded in the Netherlands (81.0%), Sweden (79.5%), Czechia (79.4%) and Estonia (79.4%).
The lowest employment rates were observed in Greece (58.3%), Italy (61.1%) and Spain (66.6%). These three countries also showed the highest labour market slack rates at 25.1%, 25.0% and 25.2%, respectively.
Total labour market slack was lowest in Czechia (4.4%), Malta (6.1%) and Poland (6.7%).
Romania’s employment rate for the first quarter of 2021 was 67.2%. It showed a decrease compared to the fourth quarter of 2020 of 71.4%.
