MADRID: The statistics agency Eurostat reports that the unemployment rate in the EU dropped by 0.1% to 11.1% in April, the lowest level recorded since March 2012, representing a decrease in real terms of 126,000 people Reduced unemployment in Spain contributes to EU improvementduring the month.
At the same time an unemployment rate of 9.7% is reported in the Eurozone, and both figures have fallen by 0.6% in the year from April 2014 to April 2015. This represents a reduction in the totals of 1.54 million in the EU and 849,000 in the Eurozone, with Spain’s contribution to this improvement being 520,000: in other words, this country is responsible for 61% of the improvement in the Eurozone and just over a third in the whole of the EU.
According to Eurostat, though, there were still 5.19 million people out of work in Spain in April, (this is based on the EPA Active population survey and not the official government unemployment office stats) giving an unemployment rate of 22.7%, and this is the second highest in Europe behind that of Greece (25.4%). Among the other highest rates are those in Croatia (17.5%), Cyprus (15.6%) and Portugal (13%).
At the other end of the scale are Germany, with a rate of 4.7%, Lithuania, Malta, Austria (all 5.7%) the UK 5.4%( last figures given were for February) and the Czech Republic (5.9%). Across the continent the figures for unemployment in the under-25 age group continue to improve but are still worrying: 22.3% of young adults in the Eurozone are still out of work and the equivalent percentage in 20.7% in the EU, while in Spain 49.6% of under 25s are without a job. Again only Greece fares worse, with a rate of 50.1%.
