(01 March 2019) – The unemployment rate in the European Union has fallen gradually over the past five years. In January 2019, it stood at 6.5%. This is the lowest rate since January 2000.
The euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 7.8% in January 2019, stable compared with December 2018 and down from 8.6% in January 2018. This remains the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since October 2008.
Eurostat estimates that 16.222 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 12.848 million in the euro area, were unemployed in January 2019. Compared with January 2018, unemployment fell by 1.536 million in the EU28 and by 1.233 million in the euro area.
Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates in January 2019 were recorded in Czechia (2.1%) and Germany (3.2%). The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (18.5% in November 2018), Spain (14.1%) and Italy (10.5%).