Monitoring the EU economic outlook_novembre_2024 – V2_GW7 – Employment

The EU unemployment rate is expected to remain at historically low levels, with a slight further decline anticipated in the near term. Although job vacancy rates are falling, indicating easing labour demand pressures, the EU’s employment rate has reached an all-time high. In the second quarter of 2024, 75.8 % of individuals aged 20 to 64 were employed, reflecting persistently tight labour markets, particularly in the services sector.
From a gender perspective, employment rates among women aged 20 to 64 continued to rise, reaching 70.8 %, compared to 80.8 % for men. Consequently, the employment gender gap narrowed to 10 percentage points, the smallest recorded since 2009.
Wage growth maintained robust momentum in the first half of 2024, with real wages increasing by 2.1 % across the EU and 1.5 % within the euro area. Despite this positive trend, wage levels have yet to recover to their post-pandemic peak, last observed in the third quarter of 2021.