Brussels, 01/10/2003 (Agence Europe) - The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the euro zone rose to 8.8% in August 2003 (unchanged from July 2003), as against 8.5% in August 2002. The unemployment rate in EU of the Fifteen stood at 8.0% in August 2003 (as it did in July of the same year), compared to 7.7% for August 2002. This was contained within data published this Wednesday 1 October by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office in Luxembourg.
Eurostat indicates that in August 2003: - the lowest rates were recorded in Luxembourg (3.8%), the Netherlands (4.1% in July), Austria (4.5%) and Ireland (4.7%), and the highest in Spain (11.4%); the unemployment figures for the under-25s rose to 16.8% in the euro zone and 15.6% in the EU15 (as against 16.3% and 15.1% respectively in August 2002). The rate varied between 7.4% in Austria and 27% in Italy.
In August 2003 and compared to August 2002, the unemployment rate for men in the euro zone rose from 7.4% to 7.7%, and women's grew from 9.9% to 10.3%. In the EU15, continues Eurostat, the unemployment rate for men went from 7.0% in August 2002 to 7.3% in August 2003; the rate for women from 8.7% to 9.0% over the same period.
Eurostat notes that in August 2003, the unemployment rate for the United States and Japan were 6.1% and 5.3% respectively.