EU countries by labour market slack

Spain had the highest labour market slack of 27 EU countries in 2022, at 21.5%. Poland had the lowest, at 4.9%. The median was 10.9% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 12.4%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest21.5Spain

Lowest4.9Poland

Median10.927 EU countries

European Union (27)12.4History

Map of EU countries, 2022

Under 7.1
7.1 to 9.6
9.6 to 11
11 to 14
14 and over

%, 2022. 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, 2022

%. 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	2022 (%)	Change on 2021
1	Spain	21.5	-2.7 pts
2	Italy	19.5	-3.3 pts
3	Greece	18.5	-3.7 pts
4	Sweden	16.2	-1.9 pts
5	Finland	15.1	-1.6 pts
6	France	14.9	-1.2 pts
7	Cyprus	12	-2.7 pts
8	Luxembourg	11.6	-1.2 pts
8	Portugal	11.6	-1.2 pts
10	Netherlands	11.4	-1.8 pts
11	Belgium	11.1	-1.8 pts
11	Croatia	11.1	-1.5 pts
13	Ireland	11	-4.9 pts
14	Latvia	10.9	-3.1 pts
15	Estonia	10.3	-0.9 pts
16	Austria	10.1	-2.2 pts
17	Romania	9.2	-0.3 pts
18	Denmark	9.1	-1.2 pts
18	Lithuania	9.1	-1.2 pts
20	Slovakia	7.8	-1.1 pts
21	Bulgaria	7.5	-1.5 pts
22	Germany	7	-0.9 pts
23	Slovenia	6.8	-2.7 pts
24	Hungary	5.7	-1.5 pts
25	Czechia Series break	5	+1.1 pts
25	Malta	5	-0.9 pts
27	Poland	4.9	-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, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. 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=2022.

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, 2022 [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=2022 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_labour_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/labour-market-slack/eu-countries?period=2022.
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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Questions

Which EU country has the highest labour market slack?

Spain, with 21.5% in 2022, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest labour market slack?

Poland, with 4.9% in 2022.

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.