Eurostat shows that between the third quarter of 2019 and the fourth quarter of 2019, the last quarter before COVID-19 containment measures began to be widely introduced by Member States, 2.8 million people in the EU (21.4% of all unemployed in the third quarter of 2019) found a job.
During this period, 7.2 million (55.4%) remained unemployed and a further 3.0 million (23.2%) became economically inactive.
Of all those initially in employment in the third quarter of 2019, 2.1 million (1.3%) became unemployed in the fourth quarter of 2019, and 3.5 million (2.3%) transitioned into economic inactivity.
From those initially counted as economically inactive in the third quarter of 2019, 3.4 million (3.4%) moved into employment in the fourth quarter of 2019, and 3.3 million (3.3%) transitioned into unemployment.
