Brussels, 04/10/2005 (Agence Europe) - Euro-zone seasonally-adjusted unemployment stood at 8.6% in August 2005, compared to 8.5% in July. It was 8.9% in August 2004. The EU25 unemployment rate was 8.7% in August 2005, compared to 8.6% in July. It was 9.0% in August 2004. In August 2005, the lowest rates were registered in Ireland (4.3%), the United Kingdom (4.6% in June), the Netherlands (4.7%), Denmark (4.8%) and Austria (5.2%). Unemployment rates were highest in Poland (17.5%), Slovakia (15.2%), Greece (9.9% in March), France and Germany (both 9.6%) and Spain (9.4%). Amongst the Member States, seventeen recorded a decrease in their unemployment rate over a year, one remained stable and seven reported an increase. The largest relative decreases were observed in Lithuania (10.7% to 7.5%), Estonia (9.1% to 7.4%), Slovakia (17.8% to 15.2%), Spain (10.8% to 9.4%) and Denmark (5.4% to 4.8%), while Luxembourg (4.9% to 5.5%), Hungary (5.8% to 6.4%), Cyprus (5.0% to 5.5%) and Austria (4.9% to 5.2%) registered the highest relative increases. In August 2005, the US unemployment rate was 4.9% and the Japanese rate was 4.3%.