In August, the unemployment rate in the eurozone countries was 7.5%, an increase of 0.1% compared with July of this year. In August 2007, the unemployment rate in these countries was also 7.4%.
If we talk about the EU as a whole, the number of unemployed in August 2008 remained unchanged compared to July (6.9%), moreover, Eurostat fixes a 0.2% decrease in unemployment compared to last year.
Among the EU member states, the lowest unemployment rate was recorded in the Netherlands (2.6%) and Denmark (2.9% in July 2008). Most unemployed in Spain (11.3%) and Slovakia (9.9%). Estonia, according to Eurostat, is in fifth place with a level of 4%.
Compared to last year, 19 EU member states experienced a drop in unemployment, while in eight countries the number of unemployed increased. The largest decline is observed in Poland (from 9.2% to 6.7%), the largest increase is in Spain (from 8.3% to 11.3%). In Estonia, compared with last year, the number of unemployed decreased by 0.4%.
Compared with last year, the unemployment rate among men in the eurozone countries grew by 0.2%. In the EU as a whole, this indicator has remained stable. The number of unemployed women, on the contrary, has a clear downward trend (both in the eurozone countries and in the EU).
The growth of youth unemployment under 25 years of age in the eurozone countries amounted to 0.3% compared to last year, in the EU this indicator fell by the same 0.3%. The lowest level was recorded in the Netherlands (4.9%) and Austria (6.3%), the highest – in Spain (24.6%) and Greece (21.4% in the second quarter of 2008).
In August of this year, 16.572 million people did not have permanent jobs in the EU, of which 11.596 million were unemployed in the eurozone countries. Compared to last August, the number of unemployed in the European Union decreased by 225,000 people. In Eurozone countries, this number, however, has grown by 272,000.
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