Unemployment in Bulgaria in August 2014 was 11.3%, EU 10.1%
Unemployment in the European Union was 10.1 per cent in August 2014, with Bulgaria recording 11.3 per cent, according to figures released on September 30 by EU statistics office Eurostat.
Year-on-year, unemployment in both the EU as a whole and in Bulgaria was lower in August 2014 than in August 2013.
Similarly, youth unemployment in the EU decreased from 23.5 per cent in August 2013 to 21.6 per cent in August 2014. In Bulgaria, youth unemployment was 27.8 per cent in August 2013, down to 22.2 per cent in August 2014.
According to Eurostat, seasonally-adjusted unemployment in the 18-member euro zone was 11.5 per cent in August 2014, stable compared with July but down from 12 per cent in August 2013.
The EU28 unemployment rate was 10.1 per cent in August 2014, the lowest value since February 2012. The rate was down from 10.2 per cent in July 20144, and from 10.8 per cent in August 2013.
Eurostat estimates that 24.642 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 18.326 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in August 2014. Compared with July 2014, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 134 000 in the EU28 and by 137 000 in the euro area.
Compared with August 2013, unemployment fell by 1.745 million in the EU28 and by 834 000 in the euro area.
Among the EU member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.7 per cent) and Germany (4.9 per cent), and the highest in Greece (27 per cent in June 2014) and Spain (24.4 per cent).
Compared with a year ago, unemployment fell in 22 member states, increased in four and remained stable in two.
The largest decreases were registered in Hungary (10.2 per cent to 7.8 per cent between July 2013 and July 2014), Portugal (16.1 per cent to 14.0 per cent), Spain (26.1 per cent to 24.4 per cent) and Croatia (18.2 per cent to 16.5 per cent), and the highest increases were registered in Finland (8.1 per cent to 8.6 per cent) and France (10.2 per cent to 10.5 per cent).
In August 2014, 4.989 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU28, of whom 3.332 million were in the euro area.
Compared with August 2013, youth unemployment decreased by 602 000 in the EU28 and by 210 000 in the euro area.
In August 2014, the youth unemployment rate was 21.6 per cent in the EU28 and 23.3 per cent in the euro area, compared with 23.5 per cent and 23.9 per cent respectively in August 2013.
In August 2014, the lowest rates were observed in Germany (7.6 per cent), Austria (8.2 per cent) and the Netherlands (10.1 per cent), and the highest in Spain (53.7 per cent), Greece (51.5 per cent in June 2014), Italy (44.2 per cent) and Croatia (43.9 per cent in the second quarter 2014).
(Image: Sergio Roberto Bichara/sxc.hu)
