31/08/2012 (Agence Europe) - EU27 and eurozone unemployment rates July 2012. The unemployment rates for July 2012, corrected for seasonal variations, reached 10.4% of the active population in the European Union (EU27) and 11.3% in the eurozone, the statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat, points out in statistics published on Friday 31 August. These rates were respectively 9.6% in the EU27 and 10.1% in the eurozone in July 2011. The lowest rates were recorded in Austria (4.5%), the Netherlands (5.3%), Germany and Luxembourg (5.5% each), and the highest in Spain (25.1%) and Greece (23.1% in May 2012). These two countries, with Cyprus, were those where the increases were highest. It should be noted that the unemployment rates for those under the age of 25 went in one year from 21.3% to 22.5% in the EU27 and from 20.7% to 22.6% in the eurozone. (FG/transl.fl)