November Eurozone unemployment stayed stubbornly high

By Marie Singer

November Eurozone unemployment remained unchanged at 12.1%, a record high since April 2013, with wide differences between the area’s core and peripheral countries, according to figures published today by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

The Eurozone, or euro area, includes 17 European Union (EU) member states that use the euro as their national currency. November’s unemployment rate for the whole of the EU’s 28 member states (EU28) was 10.9%.

Unemployment rates in both the Eurozone and EU28 were higher in November 2013 compared to November 2012.

There were an estimated 26.553 million unemployed men and women in the EU28 and 19.241 million in the Eurozone in November 2013, an  increase of 19,000 and 4,000 respectively from the month before and 278,000 and 452,000 respectively since November 2012.

Eurozone unemployment varies hugely by region

Below are the top/bottom three Eurozone countries according to their unemployment rates:

  • Austria – 4.8%.
  • Germany – 5.2%.
  • Luxembourg – 6.1%.
  • Croatia – 18.6%.
  • Spain – 26.7%.
  • Greece – 27.4%.

The unemployment rate fell in 14 European Union member states and rose in 14, comparing November 2013 to November 2012. The highest increases were recorded in:

  • Cyprus – 13.3% to 17.3%.
  • Italy – 11.3% to 12.7%.
  • Greece – 26% to 27.4%.
  • The Netherlands – 5.6% to 6.9%.

The largest falls were recorded in:

  • Ireland – 14.3% to 12.3%.
  • Latvia – 14% to 12%.
  • Lithuania – 13% to 11.3%.
  • Portugal – 17% to 15.5%.
  • Hungary – 11% to 9.5%.

The unemployment rate in the United States in November 2013 was 7%, compared to 7.3% the month before.

Eurozone unemployment

Source: Eurostat. Meaning of some abbreviations: Germany (DE), Estonia (EE), Greece (EL), Spain (ES), Croatia (HR), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK).

European youth unemployment

There were 5.661 million people aged under 25 years unemployed in the EU28, 3.575 million of them in the Eurozone. Youth unemployment fell by 46,000 in the EU28 from November 2012 to November 2013 and grew by 2,000 in the Eurozone.

The youth unemployment rate in the EU28 in November 2013 was 23.6%, and 24.2% in the Eurozone.