(01 December 2015) – The euro area rate was 10.7% in October 2015, the lowest rate since January 2012. The EU28 unemployment rate was 9.3%, the lowest rate since September 2009.
Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates in October 2015 were recorded in Germany (4.5%), the Czech Republic (4.7%) and Malta (5.1%), and the highest in Greece (24.6% in August 2015) and Spain (21.6%).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate in October 2015 fell in twenty-four Member States and increased in four. The largest decreases were registered in Spain (from 23.9% to 21.6%), Slovakia (from 12.7% to 10.7%), Ireland (from 10.7% to 8.9%) and Croatia (from 17.6% to 15.8%).
The increases were registered in Finland (9.0% to 9.5%), France (10.5% to 10.8%), Belgium (8.6% to 8.7%) and Romania (6.7% to 6.8%).
In October 2015, the youth unemployment rate was 20.0% in the EU28 and 22.3% in the euro area, compared with 21.7% and 23.3% respectively in October 2014. The lowest rates were observed in Germany (7.1%), Austria (10.4%), Denmark (10.9%) and the Netherlands (11.6%), and the highest in Greece (47.9% in August 2015), Spain (47.7%), Croatia (43.1% in the third quarter 2015) and Italy (39.8%).