Unemployment rate during each Commission president's tenure
Every Commission president since 1991, ranked by how the unemployment rate changed from their first day in office. Politare shows what happened during a tenure; it does not claim the office-holder caused it.
Sort by
Tenures
Period
Order
| # | Commission president | In office | Total | Per year | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  José Manuel Durão Barroso | 22 Nov 2004 – 1 Nov 2014 | +0.8 pp Oct 2004 → Oct 2014 | +0.1 pp/yr | |
| 2 | Ursula von der Leyen | 1 Dec 2019 – now | −0.6 pp Nov 2019 → Aug 2026 | −0.1 pp/yr | |
| 3 | Jean-Claude Juncker | 1 Nov 2014 – 1 Dec 2019 | −4.1 pp Oct 2014 → Nov 2019 | −0.8 pp/yr |
Sorted by total, highest first. Every row is indexed to the last month complete before the first day in office ("from" marks a start that had to move because that period had no data, or because the period cut it); Levels are per cent changes, rates are differences in pp; "per year" compounds levels and divides rates. Tenures with under 12 months, or under three observations, are left out. % of labour force · Eurostat (une_rt_m), seasonally adjusted · European Union data · as of Sep 2026.