Greece still a champion in euro area unemployment

The euro area’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 11.3% in March 2015, stable compared with February 2015, but down from 11.7% in March 2014.

The EU28 unemployment rate was 9.8% in March 2015, stable compared with February 2015 and down from 10.4% in March 2014. These figures were published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, on Thursday.

Eurostat estimates that 23.748 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 18.105 million in the euro area, were unemployed in March 2015. Compared with February 2015, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 75,000 in the EU28 and by 36,000 in the euro area. Compared with March 2014, unemployment fell by 1.523 million in the EU28 and by 679 000 in the euro area.

Member States

Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rate in March 2015 was recorded in Germany (4.7%), and the highest in Greece (25.7% in January 2015) and Spain (23.0%). Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate in March 2015 fell in twenty-two Member States, increased in five and remained stable in Austria. The largest decreases were registered in Ireland (12.0% to 9.8%), Spain (25.1% to 23.0%) and Poland (9.6% to 7.7%). The increases were registered in Croatia (17.3% to 18.2%), Finland (8.4% to 9.1%), Italy (12.4% to 13.0%), France (10.1% to 10.6%) and Belgium (8.4% to 8.5%). In March 2015, the unemployment rate in the United States was 5.5%, the same as in February 2015 and down from 6.6% in March 2014.