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The employment rate of the Basque Country (65.2%) in 2009 was slightly ahead of the average for the EU-27 countries (64.6%), according to Eustat data. The Spanish employment rate was 59.8% for that same year. The employment rate for Basque women stood at 58.2%, which was close to the average for women in the EU-27 (58.6%) .

The Netherlands (77.0%), Denmark (75.7%), Sweden (72.2%), Austria (71.6%), the United Kingdom and Cyprus (69.9% in each case) were the EU countries with the highest employment rates. On the other hand, Malta (54.9%), Hungary (55.4%), Italy (57.5%), Rumania (58.6%), Poland (59.3%) and Spain (59.8%) were at the bottom of the ranking.

If these data are compared with those for the period between 2000-2009 the radical change that took place can be seen, as the Basque Country went from an employment rate of 57.5% in 2000 to 65.2% in 2009. While these percentages in Spain stood at 56.3% and 59.8%, respectively, the average for this indicator in EU-27 was 62.2% in 2000 and 64.6% in 2009.

With reference to women’s employment rates, the one for the Basque Country, at 58.2%, is near to the EU-27 average (58.6%). In this sense, the evolution of this indicator over the last few years can also be qualified as noteworthy within the Basque Country, as it rose from 43.0% in 2000, to 54.8% in 2005 and 58.2% in 2009.

The following countries in Northern Europe were at top of this ranking in 2009: Denmark (73.1%), Netherlands (71.5%), Sweden (70.2%) and Finland (67.9%) were at the top of this table. However, Malta (37.7%), Italy (46.4%) and Greece (48.9%) were the countries with the lowest women’s employment rates. Spain, on the other hand, went from having a rate of 41.3% in 2000, to 51.2% in 2005 and 52.8% in 2009, that is to say, below the average of the EU-27.

However, it is also interesting to point out that the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country had, in 2009, an employment rate of the population aged between 55 and 64 of 42.5%, below the average of the EU-27 (46.0%) and that of Spain (44.1%). The country with the highest rate in this age bracket was Sweden (70.0%), while Malta (28.1%) was the country with the lowest rate.