Unemployment rate varied widely across EU regions

In 2022, the unemployment rate of people aged 15-74 in the EU was 6.2%. However, the rate varied across the EU’s NUTS 2 regions. 

The lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Central Bohemia (1.2%), Prague (1.6%), South-East and South-West in Czechia as well as Central Transdanubia in Hungary (all 1.7%). 

At the opposite end of the scale, the highest unemployment rates were registered in the Spanish regions of Ceuta (28.4%), Melilla (21.6%) and Andalusia (19.0%), along with the outermost region Guadeloupe in France (18.6%). 
 

Source dataset: lfst_r_lfu3rt

Compared with 2021, the highest increases in the unemployment rate were registered in the Spanish regions of Melilla and Ceuta (both +1.8 percentage points; pp), as well as in the outermost region of Guadeloupe in France (+1.5 pp). The highest decreases were recorded in the South Aegean region in Greece (-8.1 pp), the Canary Islands region in Spain (-5.6 pp) and Western Greece (-4.9 pp).
 

Almost 2 percentage point decrease for young people

In 2022, the EU average unemployment rate for young people aged between 15 and 29 was 11.3% (-1.7 pp compared with 2021). 

Source dataset: lfst_r_lfu3rt

However, there were marked regional differences in the unemployment rates for young people. The regions with the lowest rates were Central Bohemia (1.7%), South-West (3.1%) and Prague (3.2%) in Czechia, Upper Bavaria in Germany (3.3%), closely followed by West Transdanubia in Hungary (3.6%). 

In contrast, the highest rates were recorded in Ceuta in Spain (42.4%), the Greek region of Thessaly (39.8%), Central Greece (36.5%), and another region in Spain, Melilla (36.1%). Campania and Sicily in Italy (both 34.2%) and West Macedonia in Greece (34.3%) also had high rates of unemployment among young people.