EU countries by labour market slack

Greece had the highest labour market slack of 27 EU countries in 2016, at 31.8%. Czechia had the lowest, at 5.5%. The median was 15% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 17.3%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest31.8Greece

Lowest5.5Czechia

Median1527 EU countries

European Union (27)17.3History

Map of EU countries, 2016

Under 11
11 to 14
14 to 15
15 to 22
22 and over

%, 2016. Source: Eurostat, Labour market slack as a percentage of the extended labour force, 15 to 74 years (lfsi_sla_a). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2016

%. Source: Eurostat, Labour market slack as a percentage of the extended labour force, 15 to 74 years (lfsi_sla_a). Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2016 (%)	Change on 2015
1	Greece	31.8	-0.4 pts
2	Spain	29.2	-3 pts
3	Italy	25.6	-1 pts
4	Cyprus	24.2	-2.5 pts
5	Croatia	23.3	-1.9 pts
6	Finland	22.2	-0.4 pts
7	Portugal	20	-2 pts
8	France	19.9	-0.4 pts
9	Netherlands	19.2	-1.6 pts
10	Latvia	16.4	+0.1 pts
11	Sweden	15.4	-1.4 pts
12	Slovenia	15.3	-2.2 pts
13	Ireland	15.1	-1.9 pts
14	Bulgaria	15	-1.7 pts
14	Denmark Series break	15	+4.4 pts
16	Luxembourg	14.2	-1.4 pts
17	Romania	14.1	-1.8 pts
18	Belgium	14	-1 pts
19	Austria	13.8	+0.4 pts
20	Estonia	12.7	+1.1 pts
21	Slovakia	12.3	-2.1 pts
22	Poland	11	-2.1 pts
23	Lithuania	10.9	-1.2 pts
24	Hungary	8.5	-2.4 pts
25	Germany	8.2	-0.6 pts
26	Malta	7.3	-1.4 pts
27	Czechia	5.5	-1.3 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Unmet demand for work among people aged 15 to 74: the unemployed, part-time workers who want to work more hours, people available to work but not seeking, and people seeking work but not immediately available, as a percentage of the extended labour force (the labour force plus the last two groups).

Wider than the unemployment rate, which counts only the first group over the labour force. From the EU labour force survey. Eurostat flags series breaks (most in 2021, under the new framework regulation for social statistics); they are stored as status break.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Labour market slack as a percentage of the extended labour force, 15 to 74 years (lfsi_sla_a). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/lfsi_sla_a/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Labour market slack as a percentage of the extended labour force, 15 to 74 years (lfsi_sla_a) (EU countries by labour market slack, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/lfsi_sla_a/default/table

MLA 9

Labour market slack as a percentage of the extended labour force, 15 to 74 years (lfsi_sla_a), EU countries by labour market slack, 2016. Eurostat, European Commission, 10 Sept. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/lfsi_sla_a/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/labour-market-slack/eu-countries?period=2016. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Labour market slack as a percentage of the extended labour force, 15 to 74 years (lfsi_sla_a). EU countries by labour market slack, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/lfsi_sla_a/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/labour-market-slack/eu-countries?period=2016.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Labour market slack as a percentage of the extended labour force, 15 to 74 years (lfsi_sla_a), EU countries by labour market slack, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/lfsi_sla_a/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/labour-market-slack/eu-countries?period=2016 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_labour_2016,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Labour market slack as a percentage of the extended labour force, 15 to 74 years (lfsi\_sla\_a): EU countries by labour market slack, 2016}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/lfsi_sla_a/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-18},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/labour-market-slack/eu-countries?period=2016. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Labour market slack as a percentage of the extended labour force, 15 to 74 years (lfsi\_sla\_a). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/lfsi\_sla\_a/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Labour market slack as a percentage of the extended labour force, 15 to 74 years (lfsi_sla_a): EU countries by labour market slack, 2016
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/10
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/lfsi_sla_a/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/labour-market-slack/eu-countries?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/labour-market-slack/eu-countries?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Labour market slack as a percentage of the extended labour force, 15 to 74 years (lfsi_sla_a). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/lfsi_sla_a/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.
ER  -

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Rank EU countries by labour market slack using official data, and cite the source.

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Questions

Which EU country has the highest labour market slack?

Greece, with 31.8% in 2016, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest labour market slack?

Czechia, with 5.5% in 2016.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Labour market slack as a percentage of the extended labour force, 15 to 74 years (lfsi_sla_a). Retrieved 2026-10-18.