Eurozone: unemployment at its lowest since 2008… before the sharp rise that is coming

Unemployment in the euro zone reached its lowest level in February since the 2008 financial crisis, according to figures published on Wednesday, but it should increase sharply in March due to the coronavirus.

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One month before containment measures were implemented in most of the 19 countries that adopted the single currency due to the Covid-19 pandemic, unemployment fell to 7.3% in February, the lowest rate since March 2008, according to the European Statistics Office, Eurostat. This figure is better than expected by analysts interviewed by financial service provider Factset, who expected unemployment to stagnate at 7.4%, as in January.

It is likely that this rate will remain the lowest reached for a long time, notes Bert Colijn, analyst of the Dutch bank-insurer ING. " The impact of containment measures in the euro area on unemployment is likely to be potentially serious, " he added. “ A rise in unemployment is inevitable. The real question is, will governments manage to limit the increase? ", he added.

Up to 12.1% unemployment in 2013

At the worst of the debt crisis, unemployment reached the record rate of 12.1% in the single currency area in April, May and June 2013. Among the 19 countries that have adopted the single currency, the rates The lowest unemployment rates in February were registered in the Netherlands (2.9%) and Germany (3.2%). The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (16.3% in December 2019) and in Spain (13.6%). With a rate of 8.1%, France was above the euro area average (7.3%). In the EU, that is to say in 27 countries, the unemployment rate stood at 6.5% in February, stable compared to the rate in January.

This remains the lowest rate recorded in the EU since the publication of these monthly unemployment statistics in February 2000, said Eurostat.