site.btaEmployment in EU and Bulgaria Reaches Record-High Levels in 2024

In 2024, those employed in the labour market in the European Union accounted for 75.8% of the working-age population (persons aged 20-64), equivalent to 197.6 million people, the highest level since 2009, according to the latest data from Eurostat, published on Tuesday.

The EU employment rate in 2024 was 0.5 percentage points higher than in 2023 and 1.2 percentage points above the level recorded in 2022.

Bulgaria's employment rate (the share of the working-age population in employment) in 2024 was 76.8%, Eurostat data show. It increased by 0.4 percentage points compared with 2023 (76.2%). Last year, the employment rate in Bulgaria was also the highest since data have been available - in 2009, when it was 68.2%.

The Netherlands (83.5%) leads the EU in this indicator in 2024, followed by Malta (83%) and the Czech Republic (82.3%).

Italy (67.1%), Greece (69.3%) and Romania (69.5%) had the lowest employment rates.

The level of overqualified employees and workers in the EU in 2024 reaches 21.3% of the working age population. Overqualified are defined as employees and workers who have a university degree but are employed in occupations that do not require such a high level of educational qualifications, Eurostat says.

In Bulgaria, overqualified employees and workers accounted for 20.9% of the working-age population. Spain had the highest level of this indicator among EU countries (35%), while Luxembourg had the lowest (4.7%).