page_title: Economy of the European Union
section_title: Labour market
hierarchical_section_title: Economy of the European Union / Economies of member states / Labour market
caption_attribution_description: English: Unemployment rates in selected European countries and in the EU28.
context_page_description: The economy of the European Union is the joint economy of the member states of the European Union. It is the second largest economy in the world in nominal terms, after the United States, and the third one in purchasing power parity terms, after China and the United States. The European Union's GDP was estimated to be $18.8 trillion in 2018, representing about 22% of the global economy.
  The euro, used by 19 of its 27 members, is the second largest reserve currency as well as the second most traded currency in the world after the United States dollar. The euro is the official currency in 25 countries, in the eurozone and in six other European countries, officially or de facto.
  The European Union economy consists of an internal market of mixed economies based on free market and advanced social models. For instance, it includes an internal single market with free movement of goods, services, capital, and labor. The GDP per capita was $43,188 in 2018, compared to $62,869 in the United States, $44,246 Japan and $18,116 in China. There are significant disparities in GDP per capita between member states ranging from $106,372 in Luxembourg to $23,169 in Bulgaria.
context_section_description: The EU seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.7% in September 2018. The euro area unemployment rate was 8.1%. Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.3%), Germany and Poland (both 3.4%), and the highest in Spain (14.9%) and Greece (19.0 in July 2018).
  The following table shows the history of the unemployment rate for all European Union member states :
caption: Unemployment rates in selected European countries and in the EU28 between 01/2004 and 04/2014.
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