3.1 million unemployed people aged 15 to 74 in the EU moved into employment between the first and second quarters of 2026, while 7 million remained unemployed, according to Eurostat data.

The 3.1 million people who found work represented 23.2 per cent of all unemployed people in the EU in the first quarter of 2026.

A further 7.0 million people, or 52.8 per cent of those who had been unemployed in the first quarter, remained unemployed during the second quarter.

Another 3.2 million people, equivalent to 24.0 per cent, moved out of the labour force altogether.

The figures provide a picture of how people’s labour market status changed between the first and second quarters, rather than simply measuring the overall employment and unemployment rates.

At the same time, 2.5 million people who had been employed in the first quarter became unemployed during the second quarter.

That represented 1.2 per cent of all people who had been in employment in the first quarter.

A further 4.8 million employed people, or 2.3 per cent, moved out of the labour force between the two quarters.

Eurostat also recorded substantial movement into employment among people who had initially been outside the labour force.

Of all people classified as being outside the labour force in the first quarter, 4.2 million entered employment during the second quarter.

This represented 3.7 per cent of all people who had been outside the labour force in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, 3.9 million people who had been outside the labour force became unemployed in the second quarter, equivalent to 3.4 per cent of that group.

The figures highlight the extent of movement between employment, unemployment and inactivity within the EU labour market during the quarter.