Brussels, 01/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - Following several months of stagnation, the unemployment rate fell by 0.2% in the eurozone in July, to stand at 10.9% of the working-age population, the statistical office of the EU (Eurostat) announced on Tuesday 1 September. In the EU as a whole, unemployment fell from 9.6% to 9.5%.
Almost all of the member states saw their unemployment figures fall in July, although this was only a very modest drop in many cases. The greatest decrease was registered in Italy, where unemployment fell from 12.5% to 12% in one month. Croatia also saw a significant drop, with unemployment down by 0.3% to stand at 15.1%.
The member states which have seen a positive trend emerging include Bulgaria, Spain (which has maintained a steady pace of -0.2% per month), Malta and Portugal. Only six member states experienced a (largely contained, as just 0.1%) increase in their unemployment rates in July: the Czech Republic, France, Cyprus, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Finland.
This overall trend also benefits young people below the age of 25, as less than 22% of them were out of work in July, compared to 22.3% in the eurozone in June. The greatest drops were to be seen in Italy (-2.6%, falling to 40.5%), Belgium (-1.3%), Bulgaria (-0.7%), Slovakia (-0.7%) and Portugal (-0.6%). The only significant increase was to be seen in Lithuania, where the youth unemployment rate rose from 18.6% to 19.4% in a month. (Jan Kordys)