” “Eurostat, the EU Statistics Office, published in Brussels today the official statistics of the unemployment rates in the euro-zone (12 countries) and in the 25-member EU. In the former area, which includes Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, unemployment was 7.9% in May 2006, versus 8% the previous month. It was 8.7% in May 2005. In the 25-member EU, the unemployment rate as of May 2006 was 8.2%, versus 8.8% the year before. The lowest number of people looking for a job in the European Union is according to experts in Denmark and the Netherlands, where it stops at 3.9%. Other countries where things go well are Ireland (4.3) and Luxembourg (4.7). The highest unemployment rate can be found in Poland (16.4%) and Slovakia (15.5%). Greece, France and Belgium are also above the EU average. Seventeen EU member states show some improvement in their employment rates; as to the others, the job market offers fewer opportunities than last year. (to be continued)” “
