The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons as a percentage of the labour force (the total number of people employed and unemployed) based on International Labour Office (ILO) definition. Unemployed persons comprise persons aged 15 to 74 who fulfil all three following conditions: - are without work during the reference week; - are available to start work within the next two weeks; - have been actively seeking work in the past four weeks or have already found a job to start within the next three months. The indicator monitors high and persistent rates of unemployment and it helps to better understand the potential severity of macroeconomic imbalances. It points towards a potential misallocation of resources and general lack of adjustment capacity in the economy. The indicator is the three-year backward moving average, i.e. the data for year Y is the arithmetic average of data for years Y, Y-1 and Y-2. It is calculated: [URt+URt-1+URt-2]/3. The indicative threshold is 10%. The data source is the quarterly EU Labour Force Survey (EU LFS). The EU LFS covers the resident population in private households.

The long-term unemployment rate is the number of persons unemployed for 12 months or longer, expressed as a percentage of the labour force (the total number of people employed and unemployed). Unemployed persons are those aged 15 to 74 who meet all three of the following conditions: were not employed during the reference week; were available to start working within two weeks after the reference week; and have actively sought work in the four weeks prior to the reference week or have already found a job to begin within the next three months. The MIP auxiliary indicator is expressed as a percentage of the active population aged 15 to 74 years. In the table, the values are also presented as changes over a three-year period (in percentage points). The data source is the quarterly EU Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS), which covers the resident population living in private households.

The youth unemployment rate is a MIP auxiliary indicator, expressed as the percentage of unemployed individuals aged 15 to 24 compared to the total labour force (both employed and unemployed) within the same age group. Unemployed persons are defined as those who meet all three of the following conditions: they were not employed during the reference week; they were available to start working within the two weeks following the reference week; and they had actively sought work in the four weeks preceding the reference week, or had already secured a job scheduled to start within the next three months. In the table, the values are also presented as changes over a three-year period (in percentage points). The source of the data is the quarterly EU Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS), which covers the resident population living in private households.

Young people who are neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET) provides information about youth people aged 15 to 29 who meet the following two conditions: (a) they are not employed (i.e. unemployed or outside the labour force according to the 'International conference of labour statisticians' definition) and (b) they have not received any education or training in the four weeks preceding the survey. The MIP auxiliary indicator is expressed as a percentage of the total population in the same age group, excluding the respondents who have not answered the question 'participation to education and training'. In the table, the values are also presented as changes over a three-year period (in percentage points). Data come from the quarterly EU Labour Force Survey (EU LFS).

The employment rate of the total population is calculated by dividing the number of person aged 20 to 64 in employment by the total population of the same age group. The indicator is based on the EU Labour Force Survey.

The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons as a percentage of the labour force (the total number of people employed and unemployed) based on International Labour Office (ILO) definition. Unemployed persons comprise persons aged 15 to 74 who fulfil all three following conditions: - are without work during the reference week; - are available to start work within the next two weeks; - have been actively seeking work in the past four weeks or have already found a job to start within the next three months. The indicator monitors high and persistent rates of unemployment and it helps to better understand the potential severity of macroeconomic imbalances. It points towards a potential misallocation of resources and general lack of adjustment capacity in the economy. The quarterly time series are seasonally adjusted. The data source is the quarterly EU Labour Force Survey (EU LFS). The EU LFS covers the resident population in private households.

According to the definitions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for the purposes of the labour market statistics people are classified as employed, unemployed and outside the labour force. The economically active population is the sum of employed and unemployed persons. Persons outside the labour force are those who, during the reference week, were neither employed nor unemployed. The data source from the quarterly EU Labour Force Survey (EU LFS).

The EU labour force survey (LFS) population aged 15-74 covers the total population aged from 15 to 74 usually residing in Member States in private households, except for persons living in collective or institutional households (e.g. hospitals, residential homes, prisons, military barracks, religious institutions, etc.).