According to data from the EU Statistical Office (Eurostat) published on Thursday 2 March, the EU unemployment rate fell by 0.1% in January to 8.1%, while it remained stable in the Eurozone at 9.6%. The general downward trend in unemployment in the EU was further confirmed in January in relation to December of last year.
This trend is particularly stable and visible in Spain, where unemployment again fell by 0.2% (18.2%). The situation is similar in Slovakia where the rate stood at 8.6% or 0.2% less than during the previous month. It should also be pointed out that unemployment fell by the same proportions in Ireland (6.7%) and Luxembourg (6.1%). The only significant increase can be seen in Lithuania (8.1% as opposed to 7.6% in December 2016). In the rest of European Union, the unemployment rate remained practically the same.
Over the same period, unemployment for those aged under 25 fell quite dramatically and the symbolic 20% threshold may soon be broken. Over the course of the month, there were 0.3% fewer young people seeking a job in the Eurozone (20%) and 0.4% fewer in the whole of the EU (17.7%). (Original version in French by Jan Kordys)