Unemployment trends in the European Union Member States, January 2025

Released: 6 March 2025

In January 2025 (based on seasonally adjusted data), the unemployment rate in the European Union was 5.8%, the same as a month earlier, but 0.3 percentage points lower than in January 2024. The unemployment rates were lowest in Czechia and Poland (both 2.6%), highest in Spain (10.4%) and Sweden (8.9%).

In January 2025, the unemployment rate¹ in Hungary was 4.3%, the same as in January 2024 and 0.1 percentage points lower than a month earlier. Based on the unemployment rate, Hungary ranked 9th most favourable among the member states. Among the V4, Slovakia had a higher unemployment rate than Hungary (5.1%), while Czechia and Poland had lower rates (both 2.6%).

The number of unemployed persons in Hungary was 210 thousand in January 2025, based on seasonally adjusted data. Between November 2024 and January 2025, the average duration of job search increased from 9.3 months to 12.1 months compared to a year earlier, and the share of long-term unemployed (at least one year) rose from 33% to 36%.

According to the administrative data of the National Employment Service, by the end of January 2025, the number of registered jobseekers increased by 4.2% compared to the previous month, and decreased by 1.2% to 230 thousand compared to a year earlier.

In accord with the forecast of the National Bank of Hungary in December 2024, the unemployment rate will be between 4.1-4.3% in 2025 and 3.2-3.8% in 2026. The OECD forecast expects a slow decline from the first quarter of 2025 – starting from a base estimated at 4.6% – and estimates the rate at 4.5% for 2025 as a whole and 4.0% for 2026. Trading Economics forecasts the domestic unemployment rate to rise to 4.8% in the first three quarters of 2025, before easing to 4.7% in the last quarter, while the IMF forecasts a rate of 4.2% for 2025 as a whole and 4.1% for 2026.