The unemployment rate in the euro zone lay at 6.5% of the working population in April, down 0.1 point in comparison with March (revised figure to 6.6%), recording its lowest historical level, according to data published Thursday by Eurostat. The indicator is at its lowest level since the European Statistical Office started compiling this series in April 1998 for countries that have adopted the single currency. The unemployment rate for March was initially announced at 6.5% before being revised. For the European Union as a whole, the unemployment rate rose to 6% in April, stable over one month. The unemployment rate fell sharply across Europe from mid-2021 thanks to the strong post-Covid recovery that followed a historic recession. Despite sluggish economic growth in late 2022 and early 2023, unemployment continued its slight downward trend in April, revealing a still solid labour market, despite the war in Ukraine and soaring inflation. But recruitment difficulties could result in wage increases likely to fuel price increases, even as inflation continues to decline (slowdown to 6.1% over one year in May in the euro zone, according to a Eurostat estimate published on Thursday).
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Some 13.03 million men and women were unemployed in April in the 27 EU Member States, including 11.09 million among the twenty countries sharing the single currency. Young people under 25 remain particularly affected, with an unemployment rate of 13.8% in the EU as a whole and 13.9% in the euro area in April (compared to 14% in March in both the EU and the euro area). The unemployment rate remained stable in April in France, at 7% (the same level as in March and February). Same stability in Germany, where it remained at 2.9%. Poland and the Czech Republic have the lowest unemployment rates in the EU at 2.7%. The highest were recorded in Spain (12.7%, down 0.1 point compared to March) and Greece (11.2%, up 0.1 point). Eurostat data are based on the International Labour Office (ILO) definition of unemployment. Unemployed persons are unemployed persons who have actively looked for work in the previous four weeks and are available to start work within the next two weeks.
