Unemployment rate in euro area 6.4% in Dec 2023; 5.9% in EU

The unemployment rate in the European Union (EU) was 5.9 per cent in December—also stable compared to November and down from 6.1 per cent in December 2022, according to the EU statistical office Eurostat.

Eurostat estimates that 12.936 million persons in the EU, including 10.909 million in the euro area, were unemployed in December last year.

Compared with November, the number of unemployed decreased by 17,000 in the euro area, staying at a record low level. Compared with December 2022, unemployment decreased by 299,000 in the EU and by 369,000 in the euro area in the last month of 2023.

In December, 2.863 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of whom 2.325 million were in the euro area.

The youth unemployment rate was 14.7 per cent in the EU and 14.4 per cent in the euro area in December compared with 14.5 per cent in both regions in the previous month.

Compared with November, youth unemployment increased by 54,000 in the EU and by 13,000 in the euro area in December last year. Compared with December 2022, youth unemployment increased by 102,000 in the EU and by 84,000 in the euro area during the month.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)