Data · Unemployment rate by country: latest official figures

Unemployment rate by country, January 2026: ranking

In January 2026, Spain had the highest rate among 20 countries (10.3%) and Poland the lowest (3%). 5 countries rose from the previous month and 11 fell. The euro area figure was 6.3%.

Rank	Country	Latest	Period	Change from previous month	Definition	Source
1	Spain	10.3%	2026-01	+0.1pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
2	Finland	9.9%	2026-01	-0.4pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
3	Sweden	8.1%	2026-01	-0.7pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
4	France	8%	2026-01	0pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
5	Denmark	7.1%	2026-01	+1.1pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
6	Canada	6.5%	2026-01	-0.3pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Statistics Canada
7	Belgium	6.3%	2026-01	-0.1pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
8	Portugal	5.8%	2026-01	+0.1pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
9	Austria	5.6%	2026-01	-0.2pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
10	Italy	5.5%	2026-01	-0.2pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
11	Ireland	5%	2026-01	+0.3pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
12	UK	4.9%	2026-01	-0.3pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Office for National Statistics (UK)
13	Switzerland	4.9%	2026-01	-0.2pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
14	Norway	4.6%	2026-01	+0.4pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
15	U.S.	4.3%	2026-01	-0.1pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
16	South Korea	4.1%	2026-01	0pp	Monthly labour force survey, not seasonally adjusted	Statistics Korea (KOSIS)
17	Australia	4.08%	2026-01	-0.04pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Australian Bureau of Statistics
18	Netherlands	4%	2026-01	0pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
19	Germany	3.9%	2026-01	0pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
20	Poland	3%	2026-01	-0.1pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
Regional average (not ranked)	Euro area	6.3%	2026-01	0pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)

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How to read this

Change is the difference from the previous period of the same series, in percentage points.
Definitions are not identical across countries (see the definition column). The table compares published headline figures; it is not a ranking of living standards.

Monthly rankings

Source

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — license
Source: Office for National Statistics, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 — license
Source: Statistics Canada. Reproduced and distributed on an "as is" basis with the permission of Statistics Canada — license
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (CC BY 4.0) — license
Source: Statistics Korea (KOSIS), Consumer Price Survey / Economically Active Population Survey, 2026-01 — license
Source: Eurostat, accessed 2026-01 — license