Beyond competing with other countries, you must manage your growing population by assigning jobs to keep them engaged and encourage growth. Mismanagement can lead to acute unemployment and general unhappiness. This guide details how to handle unemployment in Europa Universalis 5.
How Employment Works in EU5
The main source of work for your Pop depends on the buildings you own, and the more buildings you have, the less the chances of unemployment. Each structure requires a certain number of Pop to operate within it, increasing production speed and providing employment. As you upgrade your settlement, you unlock new buildings and increase the number of people for employment. Upgrading settlements also improves the type of Pop you own, and they will require unique job types, which depend on whether you have built the required building.
To know the number of employees working in a building, head over to the Government tab and click on the Production sub-tab. Select any of the building types available within your settlement, which gives you detailed information on the number of employees, requirements to build, suitable locations to build the structure, and more. That way, you get to keep a check on the total Pop under employment.
All Pop, Job, and Building Types Explained
Each population across the three settlement types requires various job roles, which are fulfilled if you have the required building type. There are 6 types of Pop offering various services, and you will require multiple building types to fulfill their employment needs. Let’s take a look at each Pop type and its related structures below.
- Nobles: The Elite class that requires Embassies, Courts, and Gardens to plan diplomatic strategies.
- Burghers: Elite traders who require Markets, Guilds, and Artisan Buildings to sell and craft items.
- Clerics: Religious figures who also dabble in healthcare. Requires Churches, Temples, and Missions to function.
- Soldiers: The backbone of a nation, they will require Barracks, Castles, and Local Government Buildings to house and train the army and navy.
- Peasants: The lower working class, they make up your base population at the Rural level and will do all jobs within that settlement.
- Laborers: Rural workers who specialise in processing raw goods. They require Farms, Resource Gathering Stations, and Resource Processing Stations.
Employment Systems Explained
There are 4 Employment Systems available in the game, and each system prioritizes what you wish to focus on in terms of production, profit, and the scale of your general population. To change an Employment System, head into the Production tab and select the Employment System option right below it. The setting is placed at First Come, First Served by default, but you can hover your cursor over the other options to know what they do and change accordingly. We will explain all the types of Employment below.
- Equality: Recommended if you have an even Pop. All available buildings will staff any available Pop equally.
- First Come, First Served: Pops that are in dire need of jobs will be placed in buildings according to when they were constructed, giving them quick employment.
- Most Profitable First: Buildings that offer the most profit will be prioritized to supply employment first.
- Infrastructure, then Most Profitable: This prioritizes your Pops general needs first, supplying employment in buildings that deal with national growth first, followed by profit.
Managing your population’s employment can feel overwhelming, but Europa Universalis 5 offers automation features that lighten this task. If you’d like further guidance on game mechanics, explore our additional guides on How To Build Roads and How To Get More Levies.
