Brussels, 03/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - In the month of December 2015, the unemployment rate in the eurozone continued to fall, to stand at 10.4%, or 0.1% less than in the previous month. For the EU as a whole, this rate remained unchanged over the same period (9%), according to the data of the statistical office of the EU (Eurostat), published on Tuesday 2 February.
Variations in the unemployment rate between the months of November and December were scarcely perceptible in most of the member states. Only three member states stand out, with a similar downward trend having become well-established over several months. These are Spain, where unemployment continues to drop, reaching 20.8% (-0.2% in one month), Portugal (11.8%, or a fall of 0.4%) and Slovakia (10.6%, from 10.8%). It is worth noting that Latvia holds the distinction of having seen unemployment rise by 0.2% (10.2%).
The youth unemployment rate follow the general curve. It varied by 0.1% in the eurozone (22% in December, compared to 22.1% in November) and was stable in the EU as a whole (19.7%). (Original version in French by Jan Kordys)