EU unemployment 10.7% in December 2013, in Bulgaria 13.1% – Eurostat
Unemployment in the 28-member European Union was 10.7 per cent in December 2013, EU statistics office Eurostat said, reporting unemployment in Bulgaria the same month at 13.1 percent.
For the EU, the figure was a slight decrease from the 10.8 per cent of December 2012, according to Eurostat figures released on January 30 2014.
In the EU, there were 26.2 million unemployed people in December 2013, about 173 000 less than in December 2012.
But in Bulgaria, unemployment worsened, from 12.6 per cent in December 2012 (about 441 000 people) to 13.1 percent in December 2013 (about 423 000 people).
Eurostat said that in the 17-member euro zone, seasonally-adjusted unemployment in December 2013 was 12 per cent, stable since October. It had been 11.9 per cent in December 2012 in the euro zone. In the euro area, more than 19 million people were unemployed in December 2013.
Among EU countries, unemployment in December 2013 was lowest in Austria (4.9 per cent), Germany (5.1 per cent) and Luxembourg (6.2 per cent), and the highest in Greece (27.8 per cent in October 2013) and Spain (25.8 per cent).
Compared with December 2012, unemployment increased in 14 EU member states, fell in 13 and remained stable in Sweden.
The highest increases were registered in Cyprus (13.9 per cent to 17.5 per cent), Greece (26.1 per cent to 27.8 per cent between October 2012 and October 2013), the Netherlands (5.8 per cent to 7.0 per cent) and Italy (11.5 per cent to 12.7 per cent).
The largest decreases were in Ireland (14 per cent to 12.1 per cent), Latvia (14 per cent to 12.1 per cent between the third quarters of 2012 and 2013), Portugal (17.3 per cent to 15.4 per cent), Hungary (11 per cent to 9.3 per cent between November 2012 and November 2013) and Lithuania (13 per cent to 11.4 per cent), Eurostat said.
