EU countries by labour market slack

Greece had the highest labour market slack of 27 EU countries in 2018, at 27.4%. Czechia had the lowest, at 3.4%. The median was 12.4% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 14.6%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest27.4Greece

Lowest3.4Czechia

Median12.427 EU countries

European Union (27)14.6History

Map of EU countries, 2018

Under 8.6
8.6 to 11
11 to 14
14 to 17
17 and over

%, 2018. 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, 2018

%. 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	2018 (%)	Change on 2017
1	Greece	27.4	-2.3 pts
2	Spain	24.2	-2.4 pts
3	Italy Series break	23.2	-1.2 pts
4	Finland	20.6	-1.2 pts
5	France	18.2	-0.7 pts
6	Cyprus	16.6	-4.6 pts
7	Croatia	16.3	-3.2 pts
8	Ireland	15.9	+1.2 pts
9	Netherlands	14.8	-2.2 pts
10	Sweden	14.3	-0.5 pts
11	Portugal	14	-2.9 pts
12	Belgium	13.3	-0.9 pts
13	Latvia	12.8	-2.3 pts
14	Luxembourg	12.4	-0.3 pts
15	Austria	11.5	-1.5 pts
16	Estonia	11	+0.1 pts
17	Romania	10.9	-1.3 pts
18	Bulgaria	10.7	-1.8 pts
19	Denmark	10.5	-2.1 pts
20	Slovenia	10.3	-2.5 pts
21	Slovakia	8.8	-1.9 pts
22	Lithuania	8.5	-1.4 pts
23	Poland	7.7	-1.6 pts
24	Germany	6.9	-0.7 pts
25	Malta	6.5	+0.3 pts
26	Hungary Series break	6.2	-1 pts
27	Czechia	3.4	-0.8 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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_labour_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/labour-market-slack/eu-countries?period=2018.
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 27.4% in 2018, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest labour market slack?

Czechia, with 3.4% in 2018.

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.