Euro zone unemployment reached new record in November 2012 – Eurostat
More than two million people in the European Union lost their jobs between November 2011 and November 2012, bringing unemployment in the 27-member bloc to 10.7 per cent in the 11th month of last year, according to seasonally-adjusted figures released by EU statistics office Eurostat on January 8 2013.
The EU unemployment figure in November 2012 was stable compared with October 2012 but unemployment in the 17-member euro zone reached 11.8 per cent, another new high.
“In both zones, rates have risen markedly compared with November 2011, when they were 10.6 per cent and 10.0 per cent, respectively,” Eurostat said.
Eurostat estimated that 26.061 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 18.820 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in November 2012. Compared with October 2012, the number of unemployed increased by 154 000 in the EU27 and by 113 000 in the euro area. Compared with November 2011, unemployment rose by 2.012 million in the EU27 and by 2.015 million in the euro area.
In Bulgaria, unemployment was 12.4 per cent in November 2012, according to Eurostat. Youth unemployment in Bulgaria that month was 27.4 per cent.
Eurostat said that among EU countries, the lowest unemployment in November 2012 was in Austria (4.5 per cent), Luxembourg (5.1 per cent), Germany (5.4 per cent) and the etherlands (5.6 per cent), and the highest in Spain (26.6 per cent) and Greece (26 per cent in September 2012).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate increased in 18 EU member states, fell in seven and remained stable in two, Denmark and Hungary. The largest decreases were in Estonia (12.1 per cent to 9.5 per cent between October 2011 and October 2012), Latvia (15.7 per cent to 14.1 per cent between the third quarters of 2011 and 2012), and Lithuania (13.9 per cent to 12.5 per cent).
The highest increases were registered in Greece (18.9 per cent to 26.0 per cent between
September 2011 and September 2012), Cyprus (9.5 per cent to 14.0 per cent), Spain (23.0 per cent to 26.6 per cent) and Portugal (14.1 per cent to 16.3 per cent).
Between November 2011 and November 2012, the unemployment rate for men increased from 10.4 per cent to 11.7 per cent in the euro area and from 9.9 per cent to 10.8 per cent in the EU27.
Among women, unemployment rose from 10.9 per cent to 11.8 per cent in the euro area and from 10.1 per cent to 10.7 per cent in the EU27.
In November 2012, 5.799 million young people (under 25) were unemployed in the EU27, of whom 3.733 million were in the euro area.
Compared with November 2011, youth unemployment rose by 329 000 in the EU27 and by
420 000 in the euro area. In November 2012, the youth unemployment rate was 23.7 per cent in the EU27 and 24.4 per cent in the euro area, compared with 22.2 per cent and 21.6 per cent respectively in November 2011. In November 2012 the lowest rates were observed in Germany (8.1 per cent), Austria (nine per cent) and the Netherlands (9.7 per cent), and the highest in Greece (57.6 per cent in September 2012) and Spain (56.5 per cent).
(Illustration: Sergio Roberto Bichara/sxc.hu)
