Eurostat: Unemployment in Bulgaria in October 2019 was 4.2%

Unemployment in Bulgaria in October 2019 was 4.2 per cent, up from 4.1 per cent a month earlier, European Union statistics agency Eurostat said on November 29, citing seasonally-adjusted figures.

In October 2019, unemployment in Bulgaria had been 4.9 per cent, representing about 137 000 people, according to Eurostat.

The September 2019 unemployment figure represented about 138 000 people, and that for October 2019, about 142 000 people.

The youth unemployment figure for Bulgaria in October 2019 was 9.1 per cent, down from 11.3 per cent in October 2018.

This represented, in October 2019, about 13 000 unemployed under-25s in Bulgaria, down from an estimated 16 000 the same month a year earlier.

In both cases, unemployment and youth unemployment, the figure for Bulgaria was below the EU average.

Eurostat said that the euro zone (EA19) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 7.5 per cent in October 2019, down from 7.6 per cent in September 2019 and from eight per cent in October 2018. This is the lowest rate recorded in the euro zone since July 2008.

The EU28 unemployment rate was 6.3 per cent in October 2019, stable compared with September 2019 and down from 6.7 per cent in October 2018. This remains the lowest rate recorded in the EU28 since the start of the EU monthly unemployment series in January 2000.

Among EU countries, unemployment in October 2019 was lowest in the Czech Republic (2.2 per cent), Germany (3.1 per cent) and Poland (3.2 per cent). The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (16.7 per cent in August 2019) and Spain (14.2 per cent).

Compared with a year ago, unemployment fell in 24 EU countries, while it increased in the Czech Republic (from 2.1 per cent to 2.2 per cent), Lithuania (from 6.1 per cent to 6.4 per cent), Denmark (from 4.9 per cent to 5.3 per cent) and Sweden (from 6.4 per cent to 6.8 per cent).

The largest decreases were registered in Greece (from 18.9 per cent to 16.7 per cent between August 2018 and August 2019) and Estonia (from 5.7 per cent to 4.3 per cent between September 2018 and September 2019).

In October 2019, 3.240 million young people (under 25) were unemployed in the EU28, of whom 2.261 million were in the euro zone. Compared with October 2018, youth unemployment decreased by 160 000 in the EU28 and by 147 000 in the euro zone.

In October 2019, the youth unemployment rate was 14.4 per cent in the EU28 and 15.6 per cent in the euro zone, compared with 15.1 per cent and 16.7 per cent respectively in October 2018.

In October 2019, the lowest rates were observed in the Czech Republic (5.5 per cent), Germany (5.8 per cent) and the Netherlands (7.3 per cent), while the highest were recorded in Greece (33.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2019), Spain (32.8 per cent) and Italy (27.8 per cent).

(Photo: Odan Jaeger)

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