Eurostat, the statistics office of the European Union, has published data according to which the unemployment rate of the member countries of the single currency has remained stable at 8.8% in March, with no reduction over February (and with a slight increase over the same period of 2003). For the first time since the accession of the ten new member states, moreover, Eurostat has published aggregate date for the 25-member EU: unemployment in the new Europe is estimated at 9%, with no variation over the previous year. Over the last twelve months, the most significant increases in the unemployment rate were registered in Holland, Sweden and Luxembourg; on the other hand, substantial improvements were ascertained in Lithuania (though with 11.5% out of work it’s at the bottom of the league table), Estonia and the UK. Regional disparities within the various states continue to be very high. Substantially unvaried is also the percentage of unemployment among women (average 10%) and among youth below the age of 25 (average 17.5%).
