Brussels, 30/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - Unemployment was 10.8% in the eurozone in September 2015 and 9.3% in the EU28, according to figures released by the EU's statistical office, Eurostat, on Friday 30 October.
Seasonally-adjusted unemployment in the eurozone stood at 10.8% in September, down from 10.9% in August. This is the lowest rate in the eurozone since January 2012. In the EU28, unemployment stood at 9.3% in September, up from 9.4% in August, which was the lowest rate in the EU28 since September 2009.
In September 2015, 22.631 million men and women in the EU28 (17.323 million of them in the eurozone) were unemployed. Compared with August 2015, the number of unemployed decreased by 147,000 in the EU28 and 131,000 in the eurozone.
The member states are not evenly impacted by unemployment. The lowest unemployment rates in September 2015 were recorded in Germany (4.5%), the Czech Republic (4.8%) and Malta (5.1%), and the highest in Greece (25.0% in July 2015) and Spain (21.6%).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate in September 2015 fell in twenty-three Member States, increased in four and remained stable in Austria. The largest decreases were registered in Spain (from 24.0% to 21.6%), Estonia (from 8.0% to 5.7% between August 2014 and August 2015), Bulgaria (11.3% to 9.4%) and Slovakia (12.9% to 11.0%). The increases were registered in Finland (8.9% to 9.5%), France (10.4% to 10.7%), Romania (6.7% to 6.8%) and Belgium (8.6% to 8.7%).
In September 2015, 4.540 million young persons (under the age of 25) were unemployed in the EU28, 3.113 million of them in the eurozone. Compared with September 2014, youth unemployment decreased by 500,000 in the EU28 and 251,000 in the eurozone. The lowest rates were observed in Germany (7.0%), Austria (11.0%), Denmark (11.2%) and the Netherlands (11.5%), and the highest in Greece (48.6% in July 2015), Spain (46.7%), Croatia (43.1% in the third quarter 2015) and Italy (40.5%). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)
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