Youth unemployment in Bulgaria worsens to close to 30 per cent in September 2012 – Eurostat
Youth unemployment in Bulgaria was 29.7 per cent in September 2012, up from 23.8 per cent a year earlier, according to figures released on October 31 by European Union statistics office Eurostat.
The September figure, which is seasonally adjusted, also represents an increase from the 29.3 per cent unemployment among under-25s in Bulgaria in August 2012.
Across the 27 member states of the EU, youth unemployment was 22.8 per cent in September 2012, up from 21.7 per cent in September 2011. In the euro zone, unemployment was 23.3 per cent, up from 21 per cent in September 2011.
Overall, September 2012 found 5.520 million people in the EU under 25 jobless. In the 17-member euro zone, the figure for youth unemployment was 3.493.
The euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 11.6 per cent in September 2012, up from 11.5 per cent in August. The EU27 unemployment rate was 10.6 per cent in September 2012, stable compared with August. In both zones, rates have risen significantly compared with September 2011, when they were 10.3 per cent and 9.8 per cent, respectively.
Eurostat estimates that 25.751 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 18.490 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in September 2012. Compared with August 2012, the number of unemployed people increased by 169 000 in the EU27 and by 146 000 in the euro area. Compared with September 2011, unemployment rose by 2.145 million in the EU27 and by 2.174 million in the euro area.
Among EU member states, the lowest unemployment was in Austria (4.4 per cent), Luxembourg (5.2 per cent), Germany and the Netherlands (both 5.4 per cent), and the highest in Spain (25.8 per cent) and Greece (25.1 per cent in July 2012).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate increased in 20 EU countries and fell in seven. The largest decreases were observed in Lithuania (14.7 per cent to 12.9 per cent), Estonia (11.4 per cent to 10 per cent between August 2011 and August 2012), and Latvia (17.0 per cent to 15.9 per cent between the second quarters of 2011 and 2012). The highest increases were registered in Greece (17.8 per cent to 25.1 per cent between July 2011 and July 2012), Cyprus (8.5 per cent to 12.2 per cent), Spain (22.4 per cent to 25.8 per cent) and Portugal (13.1 per cent to 15.7 per cent).
Between September 2011 and September 2012, unemployment among men increased from 10.1 per cent to 11.5 per cent in the euro area and from 9.7 per cent to 10.6 per cent in the EU27. Unemployment among women rose from 10.6 per cent to 11.8 per cent in the euro area and from 9.9 per cent to 10.7 per cent in the EU27.
In September 2012, 5.520 million young people (under 25) were unemployed in the EU27, of whom 3.493 million were in the euro area. Compared with September 2011, youth unemployment rose by 164 000 in the EU27 and by 275 000 in the euro area. In September 2012, the youth unemployment rate was 22.8 per cent in the EU27 and 23.3 per cent in the euro area, compared with 21.7 per cent and 21.0 per cent respectively in September 2011. In September 2012 the lowest rates were observed in Germany (eight per cent), the Netherlands (9.7 per cent) and Austria (9.9 per cent), and the highest in Greece(55.6 per cent in July 2012) and Spain (54.2 per cent).