Brussels, 03/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - The unemployment rate in the eurozone and in the EU as a whole fell slightly in the month of April, to 11.7% and 10.4% respectively.
The first fall in unemployment seen in the eurozone in 2014 is an “encouraging” sign, says Commissioner Laszlo Andor, who is in charge of Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. “However, many new jobs are precarious and we are a long way from ensuring that everybody has a real opportunity on the employment market”, he added.
At the same time, however, the drop seen in the eurozone and in the EU between March and April is low, at just 0.1%. It was helped by relatively large decreases in employment rates, of between 0.2% and 0.7%, in Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Lithuania and Portugal. (JK)