Brussels, 01/06/2006 (Agence Europe) - Unemployment stood at 8.0% in April 2006, unchanged compared to March. It was 8.7% in April 2005. The EU25 unemployment rate was 8.3% in April 2006, unchanged compared to March. It was 8.9% in April 2005. In April 2006, the lowest rates were registered in the Netherlands (3.8%), Denmark (4.3% in March), Ireland (4.3%), Luxembourg (4.8%) and Austria (4.9%). Unemployment rates were highest in Poland (16.5%), Slovakia (15.5%), Greece (9.6% in the fourth quarter 2005), France (8.9%) and Malta (8.5%). Amongst the Member States, seventeen recorded a decrease in their unemployment rate over a year and seven reported an increase. The largest relative falls were observed in Estonia (8.3% to 5.1%), Lithuania (9.2% to 6.0%), the Netherlands (4.9% to 3.8%) and Denmark (5.4% in March 2005 to 4.3% in March 2006). The highest relative increases were registered in Cyprus (5.2% to 6.3%), Malta (7.3% to 8.5%), Slovenia (6.2% to 7.0%), the United Kingdom (4.6% in February 2005 to 5.1% in February 2006), and Luxembourg (4.4% to 4.8%). In April 2006, the US unemployment rate was 4.7% and the Japanese rate was 4.1%.