Warsaw region posts EU's highest employment rate at 86.9% in 2025
The Warsaw region, including Poland's capital and suburbs, had the highest employment rate in the EU last year, according to new Eurostat data. Its rate for people aged 20-64 was 86.9%, more than 10 percentage points above the EU average of 76.1%, and the highest recorded for Warsaw since 2013. Notes from Poland reports that Poland's ageing, shrinking population is creating labour shortages and pushing companies toward automation.
Bottom line — Poland's national rate of 78.8% ranks only 13th in the EU, so Warsaw's lead is a regional outlier, not a national trend.
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Prague was second at 86%, followed by Finland's Åland Islands at 85.5% and Utrecht at 85.4%, per the same Eurostat figures.
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The EU average of 76.1% sits slightly below the bloc's 2030 target of 78%.
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At the bottom, Mayotte recorded 36.9% and French Guiana 50%, with Calabria, Campania and Sicily all between 50% and 52%.
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Warsaw also had the third-lowest youth employment rate (ages 15-29) at 3.9%, a point the report notes sits behind only two other regions.
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Notes from Poland says Poland's unemployment rate of 3.3% in August was the second-lowest among member states, against an EU figure of 6.2%.
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Analysts quoted in the report, described only as 'experts', argue that manufacturing, automotive, furniture and construction materials are under pressure while job creation slows.
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Notes from Poland credits years of economic growth and rising wages for the strong labour market.