Brussels, 01/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - According to data published by the EU Statistics Office (Eurostat), the euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 10.7% in October 2015, down from 10.8% in September 2015, to 17.2 million people.
This is the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since January 2012. The EU28 unemployment rate was 9.3% in October 2015, or 22.5 million people, stable compared to September 2015. This is the lowest rate recorded in the EU28 since September 2009.
There are sharp disparities among member states. Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates in October 2015 were recorded in Germany (4.5%), the Czech Republic (4.7%) and Malta (5.1%), and the highest in Greece (24.6% in August 2015) and Spain (21.6%). The largest decreases were registered in Spain (from 23.9% to 21.6%), Slovakia (from 12.7% to 10.7%), Ireland (from 10.7% to 8.9%) and Croatia (from 17.6% to 15.8%). Increases were registered in Finland (9.0% to 9.5%) and France (10.5% to 10.8%).
In October, the youth unemployment rate was 20.0% in the EU28 and 22.3% in the euro area. The lowest rates were observed in Germany (7.1%), Austria (10.4%), Denmark (10.9%) and the Netherlands (11.6%), and the highest in Greece (47.9% in August 2015), Spain (47.7%). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)