Finland unemployment rate reached 10.5% in July, leaving the country with the highest rate in the euro area and the highest among EU countries with monthly unemployment data available, according to figures published by Eurostat.
The Finnish rate was unchanged from June and remained far above the euro-area average of 6.4%. Spain recorded the second-highest rate at 10.0%, followed by France at 8.3%.
Finland’s position has become increasingly pronounced over the past two years. The country’s unemployment rate was 9.9% in July 2025 and has climbed to 10.5%, where it has remained since April this year in Eurostat’s seasonally adjusted data.
The deterioration is also reflected in the number of people without work. Finland had an estimated 302,000 unemployed people in July, up from 283,000 a year earlier. The increase has come as unemployment across much of the European Union has remained comparatively stable, with the EU average staying close to 6%.
Sweden recorded an unemployment rate of 8.7% in July, while Greece stood at 7.9%. Finland overtook Spain in the EU unemployment ranking towards the end of 2025, after the two countries had reported broadly similar figures for much of the preceding year. Spain has since moved in the opposite direction, with its unemployment rate falling from 10.6% in July 2025 to 10.0% this July.
Young people in Finland are facing an even more difficult labour market. Youth unemployment reached 23.4% in July among people under the age of 25, unchanged from June. About 76,000 young people were unemployed.
Only Sweden had a higher youth unemployment rate among the figures highlighted, at 24.4%. Spain’s stood at 22.9%.
The situation for younger workers in Finland contrasts with a modest improvement across the wider European market. The euro area’s youth unemployment rate declined to 14.9% in July from 15.0% in June, while the EU rate fell from 15.6% to 15.1%.
Eurostat estimated that 11.264 million people were unemployed across the euro area in July, while the total for the European Union reached 13.516 million. Compared with July 2025, unemployment increased by 175,000 people in the euro area and by 296,000 across the EU.
Finland’s figures were also high for both men and women. Male unemployment stood at 10.8% in July, compared with 10.1% for women. Both rates were significantly above the corresponding euro-area figures, where unemployment stood at 6.2% among men and 6.6% among women.
The figures underline the scale of the pressure facing Finland’s labour market. While unemployment has increased across the EU compared with a year earlier, Finland’s rate is now several percentage points above the broader European level and remains the highest in the euro area.
Eurostat’s unemployment measure follows the definition used by the International Labour Organisation. It covers people aged 15 to 74 who do not have a job, have actively sought work during the previous four weeks and are available to begin working within two weeks. The measure therefore focuses on people considered to be actively participating in the labour market rather than everyone without a job.
