68 000 young people unemployed in Bulgaria in April 2013 – Eurostat
April 2013 saw 5.62 million young people – meaning under-25s – unemployed in the European Union, about 68 000 of them in Bulgaria, according to figures released by EU statistics agency Eurostat on May 31.
Youth unemployment in Bulgaria in April 2013 was 28.9 per cent, the same figure as in April 2012, although in the intervening year it had on occasion risen slightly above that figure.
Of the total unemployed youth in the EU, about 3.62 million were in the 17-member euro zone, according to Eurostat.
Compared with April 2012, youth unemployment rose by 100 000 in the EU27 and by 188 000 in the euro area.
In April 2013, the youth unemployment rate was 23.5 per cent in the EU27 and 24.4 per cent in the euro area, compared with 22.6 per cent in both zones in April 2012.
In April 2013, youth unemployment was lowest in Germany (7.5 per cent), Austria (eight per cent) and the Netherlands (10.6 per cent), and the highest in Greece (62.5 per cent in February 2013), Spain (56.4 per cent), Portugal(42.5 per cent) and Italy (40.5 per cent).
Overall, according to Eurostat, unemployment in Bulgaria in April 2013 was 12.3 per cent – meaning 412 000 people.
Unemployment in Bulgaria in April 2012 was 12.2 per cent, in January 2013 12.5 per cent, February and March 2013 12.4 per cent.
Eurostat said that that the euro zone seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 12.2 per cent in April 2013, up from 12.1 per cent in March.
The EU27 unemployment rate was 11 per cent, unchanged compared with the previous month. In both zones, rates have risen markedly compared with April 2012, when they were 11.2 per cent and 10.3 per cent, respectively.
Eurostat estimates that 26.588 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 19.375 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in April 2013. Compared with March 2013, the number of unemployed people increased by 104 000 in the EU27 and by 95 000 in the euro area. Compared with April 2012, unemployment rose by 1.673 million in the EU27 and by 1.644 million in the euro area.
Among EU member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.9 per cent), Germany (5.4 per cent) and Luxembourg (5.6 per cent), and the highest in Greece (27 per cent in February 2013), Spain (26.8 per cent) and Portugal (17.8 per cent).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate increased in 18 EU countries and fell in nine.
The highest increases were registered in Greece (21.9 per cent to 27.0 per cent between February 2012 and February 2013), Cyprus (11.2 per cent to 15.6 per cent), Spain (24.4 per cent to 26.8 per cent) and Portugal (15.4 per cent to 17.8 per cent).
The largest decreases in unemployment were in Latvia (15.5 per cent to 12.4 per cent between the first quarters of 2012 and 2013), Estonia (10.6 per cent to 8.7 per cent between March 2012 and March 2013) and Ireland (14.9 per cent to 13.5 per cent).
(Photo: Sergio Roberto Bichara/sxc.hu)
