Brussels, 07/05/2003 (Agence Europe) - According to statistics published on Tuesday by Eurostat, Euro-zone seasonally-adjusted unemployment stood at 8.7% in March 2003, compared to 8.6% in February. The EU15 unemployment rate was 7.9% in March 2003, unchanged compared to February. In March 2003, lowest rates were registered in Luxembourg (3.4%), the Netherlands (3.6% in February), Austria (4.3%), Ireland (4.5%), and Denmark (5.0% in February). Spain's 11.5% remained the EU's highest rate.
In March 2003 compared to March 2002, the unemployment rate for males in the euro-zone grew from 7.0% to 7.6%, and the female unemployment rate rose from 9.7% to 10.1%. In the EU15 the unemployment rate for males grew from 6.7% in March 2002 to 7.2% in March 2003. Over the same period the female rate increased from 8.6% to 8.9%. In March 2003, the unemployment rate for under-25s was 17.0% in the euro-zone and 15.7% in the EU15, compared to 15.9% and 14.8% respectively in March 2002. The rate ranged from 7.0% in Austria to 23.1% in Spain. In March 2003, the US unemployment rate was 5.8% and the Japanese rate was 5.3%. Eurostat estimates that, in March 2003, 12.2 million men and women were unemployed in the euro-zone and 14.1 million in the EU15.