EU countries by labour market slack

Greece had the highest labour market slack of 27 EU countries in 2020, at 25.7%. Czechia had the lowest, at 3.6%. The median was 13.1% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 14.9%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest25.7Greece

Lowest3.6Czechia

Median13.127 EU countries

European Union (27)14.9History

Map of EU countries, 2020

Under 8.9
8.9 to 12
12 to 14
14 to 17
17 and over

%, 2020. 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, 2020

%. 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	2020 (%)	Change on 2019
1	Greece	25.7	+0.5 pts
2	Spain	25.2	+2.5 pts
3	Italy	23.7	+1.3 pts
4	Finland	20.4	+1.1 pts
5	Sweden	17.9	+2.3 pts
6	Ireland	17.3	+2.9 pts
7	France	17.2	0 pts
8	Cyprus	14.6	+0.9 pts
9	Netherlands	14.5	+0.9 pts
10	Croatia	14.4	+0.6 pts
11	Portugal	14.3	+1.3 pts
12	Latvia	13.7	+1.9 pts
13	Luxembourg	13.2	+1.5 pts
14	Belgium	13.1	+0.7 pts
15	Austria	13	+2.3 pts
16	Estonia	12.3	+2.6 pts
17	Denmark	12.1	+1.4 pts
18	Lithuania	11	+2.6 pts
19	Bulgaria	10	+1.2 pts
19	Romania	10	+0.9 pts
21	Slovenia	9.7	+1.4 pts
22	Slovakia	8.7	+1 pts
23	Germany Series break	8.5	+2.1 pts
24	Malta	7.7	+1.1 pts
25	Hungary	7.6	+1.6 pts
26	Poland	6.3	-0.2 pts
27	Czechia	3.6	+0.5 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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

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, 2020 [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=2020 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_labour_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/labour-market-slack/eu-countries?period=2020.
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.

rank_places {"indicator":"labour_market_slack_share","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
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Questions

Which EU country has the highest labour market slack?

Greece, with 25.7% in 2020, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest labour market slack?

Czechia, with 3.6% in 2020.

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.