Inflation is going up; unemployment is essentially unchanged. In accordance with the monthly data on economy, made known by Eurostat, the price increase in April would be 3.6%, on annual basis, in the euro zone (the 15 European Union countries with the sole currency), against 3.3% in March. Better news from the work market. Unemployment is unchanged on the whole: in April, in the Euro zone, it was 7.1%, that is, the same level of March; in April 2007, the level was higher (7.5%). On the other hand, in the European Union of the 27 countries, unemployment is 6.7%, while it was over 7% one year earlier. According to Eurostat, "16 million and 47 thousand men and women were looking for a job in April 2008, 11 million of which in the euro zone. With respect to the previous month, the total number of unemployed went up by 60 thousand units". Two countries have an unemployment rate lower than 3% (Denmark and Low Countries); the highest levels concern Slovakia (10%) and Spain (9.6). Poland is the country in which the decrease in unemployment was quicker in the last year, going from 10.1% to 7.7%. Positive performances in Bulgaria, too. On the other hand, the number of unemployed in Spain and Ireland went up. Finally, youth average unemployment (under 25) remained 15%.
