The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the euro area was 6.4% in August, unchanged from July but up from 6.3% in August 2025, Eurostat reported Thursday, October 1. The rate across the European Union was 6.1%, also unchanged month to month and higher than the 6.0% recorded a year earlier.
Eurostat estimated that 11.357 million people were unemployed in the euro area and 13.600 million across the EU. Compared with July, the number increased by 26,000 in the euro area and 12,000 in the EU. The youth unemployment rate moved in a different direction across the two groupings: it was 15.0% in the euro area, down from 15.1% in July, and 15.4% in the EU, up from 15.3%.
The unemployment rate follows the International Labour Organization definition, which counts people without a job who have recently sought work and are available to start. It is one indicator of labor-market conditions, not a count of everyone outside employment.
Reader question: Did euro-area unemployment rise in August? The rate did not; it stayed at 6.4%. The estimated number of unemployed people increased by 26,000 compared with July.