3-07012011-AP-EN.PDF (Objecto application/pdf)

November 2010
Euro area unemployment rate at 10.1%
EU27 at 9.6%

The euro area1 (EA16) seasonally-adjusted2 unemployment rate3 was 10.1% in November 2010, unchanged compared with October4. It was 9.9% in November 2009. The EU271 unemployment rate was 9.6% in November 2010, unchanged compared with October4. It was 9.4% in November 2009.
Eurostat estimates that 23.248 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 15.924 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in November 2010. Compared with October, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 35 000 in the EU27 and by 39 000 in the euro area. Compared with November 2009, unemployment rose by 606 000 in the EU27 and by 347 000 in the euro area.
These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Netherlands (4.4%), Luxembourg (4.8%) and Austria (5.1%), and the highest in Spain (20.6%), Lithuania (18.3% in the third quarter of 2010) and Latvia (18.2% in the third quarter of 2010).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in six Member States, remained stable in three and increased in eighteen. The largest falls were observed in Finland (8.8% to 7.9%), Sweden (8.7% to 7.8%), Germany (7.5% to 6.7%) and Malta (7.1% to 6.3%). The highest increases were registered in Lithuania (14.3% to 18.3% between the third quarters of 2009 and 2010), Greece (9.7% to 12.9% between the third quarters of 2009 and 2010) and Bulgaria (8.3% to 10.2%).
Between November 2009 and November 2010, the unemployment rate for males rose from 9.8% to 9.9% in the euro area and remained stable at 9.6% in the EU27. The female unemployment rate increased from 9.9% to 10.2% in the euro area and from 9.2% to 9.6% in the EU27.
In November 2010, the youth unemployment rate (under-25s) was 20.7% in the euro area and 21.0% in the EU27. In November 2009 it was 20.1% and 20.5% respectively. The lowest rates were observed in the Netherlands (8.4%), Germany (8.6%) and Austria (10.3%), and the highest in Spain (43.6%), Slovakia (36.6%) and Lithuania (35.2% in the third quarter of 2010).
In November 2010, the unemployment rate was 9.8% in the USA and 5.1% in Japan.

3-07012011-AP-EN.PDF (Objecto application/pdf)


Eurostat Press Office: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat