Finland unemployment reached 10.3 percent in August, giving the country the highest unemployment rate among EU member states for the latest month measured by Eurostat. Spain followed at 10.0 percent, while Sweden recorded 8.7 percent.
The figures were published by Eurostat on October 1 and cover August 2026. Across the European Union, the unemployment rate stood at 6.1 percent, unchanged from July but slightly higher than the 6.0 percent recorded in August 2025. Eurostat estimated that 13.6 million people were unemployed across the EU in August.
Finland’s 10.3 percent rate was unchanged from July, when the same figure was recorded. However, the rate was higher than the 9.9 percent reported for August 2025. Eurostat’s figures show that about 297,000 people in Finland were unemployed in August.
Spain’s unemployment rate remained at 10.0 percent in August, down from 10.5 percent a year earlier. Sweden’s rate was 8.7 percent, slightly below its 8.8 percent level in August 2025.
Finland moved into the top position in the EU unemployment ranking in November 2025 and has remained at the top in the latest figures. The country’s rate has also stayed above 10 percent throughout the spring and summer of 2026, reaching 10.4 percent in both May and June before easing to 10.3 percent in July and August.
The figures use the International Labour Organization’s definition of unemployment. Under that definition, a person is counted as unemployed if they are without work, available to start within the next two weeks and have actively looked for work during the previous four weeks. The unemployment rate is calculated as the share of unemployed people in the labour force.
Eurostat also notes that Finland is among the countries where the trend component is used rather than the more volatile seasonally adjusted data. The figures can be revised as new monthly information and updated labour force survey data are incorporated.
Finland unemployment rate October 2025 hits highest level since 2009
The wider figures show that unemployment remains considerably higher in Finland than across the EU as a whole. At the same time, the latest data do not show a sharp month-to-month change in Finland, with the rate holding at 10.3 percent for a second consecutive month.
Youth unemployment is also high in Finland. Eurostat recorded a youth unemployment rate of 23.3 percent for people under 25 in August, compared with 15.4 percent across the EU. Finland’s youth unemployment rate was unchanged from July but higher than the 22.4 percent recorded in August 2025.
The latest figures therefore show two different parts of Finland’s labour market picture: overall unemployment remains at 10.3 percent, while unemployment among younger workers is more than twice the EU-wide rate. The next Eurostat monthly unemployment release is scheduled for October 30.
