Brussels, 31/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - In the month from May to June 2012, unemployment in the EU27 and the eurozone remained unchanged at 10.4% and 11.2% respectively, according to the latest figures from Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, published on Tuesday 31 July, but the labour market in Germany, which has thus far escaped the problems facing its neighbours, is showing signs of weakness and Italy has record high unemployment.
The unemployment levels in Europe are of huge concern. Although overall, unemployment did not rise in June, underlying variations reveal that the trend is still in upwards. Nearly 123,000 new people joined the dole queues in the eurozone over the month, and 127,000 in the EU27. Overall, there are more than 25 million unemployed inhabitants, 17 million of them in the eurozone.
According to Eurostat's estimates, Germany still has one of the healthiest labour markets with seasonally-corrected unemployment of only 5.4%, a level only bettered by Austria (4.5%) and the Netherlands (5.1%). Germany's federal job agency said a few hours before Eurostat published its estimates that the German labour market was showing signs of weakness, with gross unemployment rising from 6.6% in June to 6.8% in July, largely due to seasonal unemployment fed by school-leavers and graduates.
Elsewhere in Europe, Italy has seen a sharp rise in the total number of unemployed, which reached a record high of 10.8% in June. Eurostat's estimates for May 2012 have gone up from 10.1% to 10.6%. (JK/transl.fl)