Luxembourg, 07/06/2001 (Agence Europe) - According to statistics published by Eurostat on 6 June, the rate of seasonally adjusted unemployment in the euro zone was 8.3% in April, down compared to March (8.4%), and compared to April 2000 (9%). Taking the Union as a whole (EU15), the rate of unemployment was 7.6% in April, down compared to March (7.7%), and April 2000 (8.4%). In April 2001, the lowest rates were recorded in Luxembourg (2.4%), the Netherlands (2.4% in March), Austria (3.7%) and Ireland (3.8%). The unemployment rate in Spain (13.1%) remained the highest in the EU. Over the past twelve months, the largest relative falls were noted in the Netherlands (3.2% to 2.4%), Sweden (6.2% to 4.9%), Ireland (4.4% to 3.8%) and France (9.8% to 8.5%).