Brussels, 30/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - According to the most recent data published by the EU Statistical Office (Eurostat) on Thursday 30 April there has not been a single percentage point change in the unemployment rate in the eurozone and the entire European Union since the beginning of the year and in March this rate stood at 11.3% and 9.8% in the two respective areas.
In its estimates published for March, however, Eurostat revised its unemployment rate for February upwards and subsequently stifled hopes that this signalled a beginning in falling unemployment rates (see EUROPE 11286). During the first three months of 2015, the average rate of unemployment ultimately only changed by a 10th of a percentage point, despite a number of variations observed in the different member states.
These variations particularly affected Bulgaria, Denmark, Italy and Austria, where unemployment in the active population increased by around 0.2%. Croatia and Lithuania saw their unemployment rates fall by 0.2% and 0.5% respectively.
For young people aged under 25, March proved a good month in Ireland, France, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovakia. Young people in Denmark, Italy and Austria, however, were not so well blessed in March, particularly with regard to Austria, where unemployment increased by 1.2%. Despite these variations, the average rate of unemployment among young people remained unchanged in February and March at 22.7% in the euro zone and 20.9% in the rest of the EU. (Jan Kordys)