In December 2020, the euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 8.3%, stable compared with November 2020, and in the European Union it was 7.5%, also stable compared with the previous month, according to data published by the EU’s statistical office (Eurostat), on Monday 1 February. Compared to the end of 2019, unemployment rose by 1.951 million in the EU and 1.516 million in the euro area. Moreover, in December 2020, the youth unemployment rate was 18.5% (18.1% in December) in the euro area and 17.8% (17.5%) in the EU. Finally, in the euro area, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.8% for women, while it increased from 7.8% to 7.9% for men compared to the previous month.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) found that the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, and its resulting containment measures, had caused a second wave of job losses. According to the ETUC, the European economy can be ‘vaccinated’ against this phenomenon by extending national job protection programmes (such as short-time working), notably through the Next Generation EU recovery plan. For the ETUC, workers should also be prioritised in national vaccination programmes in order to allow a quick economic recovery. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion and Pascal Hansens)