Brussels, 02/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - The euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 11.2% in January, slightly down from 11.3% in December 2014, according to figures published by the EU statistical office, Eurostat, on Monday 2 March.
This is the lowest rate recorded in the eurozone since April 2012.
In the EU28, the unemployment rate was 9.8% in January (23.8 million, including 18.6 million in the euro area), down from 9.9% in December 2014.
The lowest levels of unemployment were recorded in Germany (4.7%) and Austria (4.8%), and the highest were in Greece (25.8% in November 2014) and Spain (23.4%). Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in 24 member states, remained stable in Belgium and increased in Cyprus (15.7% to 16.1%), Finland (8.4% to 8.8%) and France (10.1% to 10.2%). The largest decreases were registered in Spain (25.5% to 23.4%) and Ireland (12.1% to 10.0%).
In January 2015, 4.9 million (21.2%) under-25s were unemployed in the EU28, 3.281 million of whom were in the eurozone (22.9% of the EU19 population). The highest levels of youth unemployment were in Spain (50.9%) and Greece (50.6% in November 2014). (Mathieu Bion)