Youth unemployment in the European Union stood at 14.3% at the time of the Commission President's earlier address.

Omissions

• The claim does not specify which Commission President's address is meant; the exact 14.3% value corresponds to March 2023 (and roughly to the 2022-2023 period, when the EU average was ~14.5% in 2022), while at more recent addresses (2024-2026) the EU youth unemployment rate was closer to 15.0%.
• The claim attributes the figure to something the Commission President 'announced'; no source was found confirming that von der Leyen specifically cited 14.3%, so the attribution itself is unverified.
• The 14.3% figure is a real official statistic (Eurostat primary source), so it is not invented, but it appears to be used for a period that may not match the referenced address.

Sources

• PrimaryEurostat — Euro area unemployment at 6.5% (news release, data for March 2023)In March 2023, the youth unemployment rate was 14.3% both in the EU and in the euro area, down from respectively 14.5% and 14.4% in the previous month.
• PrimaryEurostat — Euro area unemployment at 6.3% (news release, data for December 2024)In December 2024, the youth unemployment rate was 15.0% in the EU, down from 15.2% in November 2024, and 14.8% in the euro area.
• PrimaryEurostat Statistics Explained — Unemployment statistics (data for July 2026)In July 2026, the youth unemployment rate was 15.1% in the EU, down from ... Compared with July 2025, youth unemployment increased by 29 000 in the EU ...
• PrimaryEuropean Commission — Employment and Social Developments in Europe (ESDE) 2023The youth unemployment rate declined in 2022. It averaged 14.5% in the EU (-2.2 pp) and 14.6% in the euro area (-2.3 pp).