Brussels, 30/01/2009 (Agence Europe) - The euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 8.0% in December 2008, compared with 7.9% in November and 7.2% in December 2007. The EU27 unemployment rate was 7.4% in December 2008, compared with 7.3% in November and 6.8% in December of last year. According to Eurostat estimates, published on Friday 30 January, 17.911 million men and women in the EU27, with 12.472 million of these in the euro area, were unemployed in December 2008. Compared with November 2008, the number of people unemployed increased by 309,000 in the EU27 and by 230,000 in the euro area. Compared with December 2007, unemployment went up by 1,665,000 in the EU27 and by 1,397,000 in the euro area.
Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Netherlands (2.7%) and Austria (3.9%), and the highest in Spain (14.4%) and Latvia (10.4%). Nine member states recorded a fall in their unemployment rate and fourteen an increase, while there was no change in four member states. The largest falls were observed in Poland (8.2% to 6.5%) and Slovakia (10.3% to 9.4%), and the highest increases in Spain (8.7% to 14.4%) and Estonia (4.1% to 9.2%).
Between December 2007 and December 2008, the unemployment rate for males rose from 6.4% to 7.6% in the euro area and from 6.3% to 7.2% in the EU27. The female unemployment rate increased from 8.1% to 8.5% in the euro area and from 7.4% to 7.7% in the EU27. In December 2008, the youth unemployment rate (under-25s) was 16.4% in the euro area and 16.6% in the EU27. In December 2007 it was 14.5% and 14.7% respectively. The lowest rates were observed in the Netherlands (5.3%) and Austria (6.9%), and the highest in Spain (29.5%) and Hungary (22.5%). (A.B./transl.rt)