(03 March 2016) – The euro area unemployment rate was 10.3% in January 2016, the lowest rate recorded since August 2011. The EU28 unemployment rate was 8.9%, the lowest rate since May 2009.
Eurostat estimates that 21.789 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 16.647 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in January 2016.
Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates in January 2016 were recorded in Germany (4.3%), the Czech Republic (4.5%), Malta and the United Kingdom (both 5.1%, November data for the UK). The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (24.6% in November 2015) and Spain (20.5%).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate in January 2016 fell in twenty-four Member States, remained stable in Estonia and increased in Latvia (from 9.7% to 10.4%), Austria (from 5.5% to 5.9%) and Finland (from 9.1% to 9.4%).
The largest decreases were registered in Spain (from 23.4% to 20.5%), Slovakia (from 12.3% to 10.3%), Ireland (from 10.1% to 8.6%) and Portugal (from 13.7% to 12.2%).