The Czech Republic has secured its position as having the second-lowest unemployment rate in the European Union this May, according to data released by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office. With a rate of just 2.8 percent, the Czech Republic follows closely behind Malta, which leads with 2.7 percent.
The overall EU unemployment rate remained steady at 5.9 percent in May, unchanged from April but showing a slight improvement of 0.1 percentage point compared to May of last year. The eurozone, however, saw a minor increase to 6.3 percent from April’s 6.2 percent.
Spain continues to struggle with the highest unemployment in the bloc at 10.8 percent, while Finland follows with 9 percent. Eurostat estimates that approximately 13.05 million people were unemployed across the EU in May, with 10.83 million of those in the eurozone. This represents an increase of 48,000 in the EU and 54,000 in the eurozone compared to April.
Youth unemployment remains a significant challenge across Europe, with rates increasing by 0.1 percentage point to reach 14.8 percent in the EU and 14.6 percent in the eurozone. Eurostat classifies “youth” as individuals under 25 years of age.
It’s worth noting that Eurostat’s methodology differs from that used by the Czech Republic’s Labor Office. While Eurostat relies on the International Labour Organization’s standard definition of unemployment and data from the Czech Statistical Office, the Czech Labor Office reported a May unemployment rate of 4.2 percent, down from 4.3 percent in April—the lowest figure this year. This discrepancy arises because the Czech Statistical Office bases its unemployment rate on labor force surveys, while the Labor Office counts registered job seekers.