EuroStat has made extensive survey on unemployment, Euro-zone1 seasonally adjusted unemployment2 stood at 8.2 percent in February 2006, compared to 8.3 percent in January3. It was 8.8 percent in February 2005. The EU254 unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in February 2006, unchanged compared to January3. It was 8.9 percent in February 2005.
In February 2006, the lowest rates were registered in Ireland (4.3 percent), Denmark and the Netherlands (both 4.4 percent), the United Kingdom (4.9 percent in December) and Austria (5.1 percent). Unemployment rates were highest in Poland (17.0 percent), Slovakia (15.8 percent), Greece (9.6 percent in the fourth quarter 2005), France (9.1 percent) and Germany5 (8.9 percent).
These figures come from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.
Amongst the Member States, seventeen recorded a decrease in their unemployment rate over a year, two remained stable and five reported an increase. The largest relative falls were observed in Estonia (8.8 percent to 5.9 percent), Lithuania (9.5 percent to 6.6 percent), Denmark (5.3 percent to 4.4 percent), Latvia (9.4 percent to 8.0 percent) and Spain (9.9 percent to 8.7 percent).
The highest relative increases were registered in Hungary (6.7 percent to 7.6 percent), Malta (7.1 percent to 8.0 percent), Luxembourg (5.0 percent to 5.4 percent), the United Kingdom (4.6 percent in December 2004 to 4.9 percent in December 2005), and Portugal (7.3 percent to 7.7 percent).
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