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This article shows how the unemployment rate at European level is not the result of a different functioning of the labour market but rather of a larger macroeconomic shock, especially after 2011: the first factor explaining the rise in European unemployment is the restrictive fiscal policy implemented from 2011 to 2014. The situations in the European countries differ greatly. Between 2007 and 2017, the unemployment rate in Germany fell by four points compared to the euro area average, whereas Spain’s rate rose by six. To compare labour markets, however, it is necessary not only to examine unemployment rates, but also to analyze the structure of the labour markets and the evolution of wages. Indeed, an analysis of working time, the type of contracts signed and activity rates gives a different picture of the state of Europe’s labour market(s). JEL codes: H25, H32, J23, J31