Unemployment in Bulgaria hits new record low in April 2017, but youth unemployment is up – Eurostat
Unemployment in Bulgaria in April 2017 was 6.4 per cent, down from eight per cent in April 2016, but over a year, youth unemployment in the country has increased from 15.4 per cent to 16.1 per cent.
For the latest successive month, unemployment in Bulgaria in April 2017 was below the average for the European Union, which was 7.8 per cent.
This emerges from figures released on May 31 by EU statistics agency Eurostat.
The eight per cent unemployment rate in Bulgaria in April 2016 represented about 264 000 people. The April 2017 figure was about 206 000 people.
Youth unemployment figures in Bulgaria increased from about 27 000 under-25s in April 2016 to about 29 000 in April 2017, according to Eurostat.
The euro area (EA19) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 9.3 per cent in April 2017, down from 9.4 per cent in March 2017 and down from 10.2 per cent in April 2016.
This is the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since March 2009.
The EU28 unemployment rate was 7.8 per cent in April 2017, down from 7.9 per cent in March 2017 and from 8.7 per cent in April 2016. This is the lowest rate recorded in the EU28 since December 2008.
Eurostat estimates that 19.121 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 15.040 million in the euro area, were unemployed in April 2017.
Compared with March 2017, the number of people unemployed decreased by 253 000 in the EU28 and by 233 000 in the euro area.
Compared with April 2016, unemployment fell by 2.225 million in the EU28 and by 1.529 million in the euro area.
Among EU countries, the lowest unemployment rates in April 2017 were recorded in the Czech Republic (3.2 per cent), Germany (3.9 per cent) and Malta (4.1 per cent).
The highest unemployment rates were in Greece (23.2 per cent in February 2017) and Spain (17.8 per cent).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate in April 2017 fell in 27 EU countries and remained stable in Finland. The largest decreases were registered in Croatia (from 13.7 per cent to 11.0 per cent), Spain (from 20.4 per cent to 17.8 per cent) and Ireland (from 8.4 per cent to 6.4 per cent).
In April 2017, 3.746 million young people (under 25) were unemployed in the EU28, of whom 2.617 million were in the euro area.
Compared with April 2016, youth unemployment decreased by 600 000 in the EU28 and by 419 000 in the euro area.
In April 2017, the youth unemployment rate was 16.7 per cent in the EU28 and 18.7 per cent in the euro area, compared with 19.0 per cent and 21.4 per cent respectively in April 2016.
In April 2017, the lowest rate of youth unemployment was in Germany (6.8 per cent), while the highest were in Greece (47.9 per cent in February 2017), Spain (39.3 per cent) and Italy (34 per cent).
(Photo: Mark Puplava/freeimages.com)
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