Brussels, 08/01/2009 (Agence Europe) - According to estimates published on Thursday 8 January by Eurostat, the European Communities' Statistical Office, the rate of unemployment in the euro area was 7.8% in November 2008, compared to 7.7% in October. In November 2007, it was 7.2%. In the EU as a whole, the rate of unemployment rose to 7.2% in November 2008, compared to 7.1% in October. It was 6.9% in November 2007. In November 2008, 17,466 million men and women were unemployed in the EU27, with 12,180 million in the euro area. Compared to October 2008, the number of unemployed increased by 274,000 in the EU27 and 202,000 in the euro area. Compared to November 2007, unemployment increased by 1.1 million in the EU27 and by 1 million in the eurozone.
The lowest rates of unemployment were recorded in the Netherlands (2.7%), Austria (3.8%) and Cyprus (3.9%) and the highest in Spain (13.4%), Slovakia (9.1%) and Latvia (9.0%). Thirteen member states recorded a fall in their unemployment rate over one year, and 14 saw their unemployment rate rise. The largest falls were noted in Poland (from 8.5% to 6.5%) and Slovakia (from 10.5% to 9.1%), and the largest increases were in Spain (from 8.6% to 13.4%) and Estonia (from 4.1% and 8.3%). The unemployment rate was 6.7% in the United States and 3.9% in Japan in November 2008. (L.C./transl.jl)