Statistics
(Brussels) Although the crisis is not over yet, jobs are slowly being created throughout Europe. Figures released by Eurostat today show that the unemployment rate in the euro area (19 countries with the single currency) was 10.1% in June 2016, stable compared to May 2016, and down from 11.0% compared to the previous year (June 2015). The situation was even better in the EU28 with the unemployment rate at 8.6% in June. According to Eurostat, 20.986 million people are unemployed in the EU, 16 million of them in the euro area. Compared to the previous month, 91.000 jobs have been created throughout the EU. Over one year, the overall number of unemployed has fallen by 2.114.000 in the EU28. Youth unemployment, however, is still a concern. Indeed, the youth unemployment rate is 18.5% in the EU28 and exceeds 20% in the euro area. By country, Malta tops the list of the virtuous countries, with the lowest unemployment rate ever recorded, 4.0%, followed by the Czech Republic (4.1%), Germany (4.2%), the United Kingdom (4.9%), and then Hungary, Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, and Poland. The countries above the EU average are Greece (with the highest rate: 23.3%), Spain (19.9%, but with a significant and persistent drop in unemployment), Croatia (13.2%), Cyprus (11.7%), Italy (11.6%), and Portugal (11.2%).
