Greek unemployment rate highest in the EU, at 26.4 pct

The EU executive’s statistics service, in a report published here, said the figures were for February 2013, but for Greece the latest figures were for December 2012.

Eurostat said unemployment in the Eurozone remained unchanged at 12 pct in February, compared with January, while in the EU-27 the unemployment rate rose

to 10.9 pct in February, from 10.8 pct in January. The number of unemployed people grew by 76,000 in the EU-27 and by 33,000 in the Eurozone in one month. The number of unemployed people totaled 26.338 million in the EU-27 and 19.071 million in the Eurozone.

Greece (26.4 pct in December), Spain (26.3 pct) and Portugal (17.5 pct) recorded the highest unemployment percentage rates, while Austria (4.8 pct), Germany (5.4 pct), Luxembourg (5.5 pct) and Holland (6.2 pct) the lowest rates.amna

Unemployment among young people rose to 23.5 pct in February, from 22.5 pct in January, in the EU-27, while in the Eurozone the rates were 23.9 pct and 22.3 pct, respectively.

The number of young unemployed in the EU was 5.694 million and in the EU 3.581 million. Greece (58.4 pct), Spain (55.7 pct), Portugal (38.2 pct) and Italy (37.8 pct) recorded the highest unemployment rates among young people, while Germany (7.7 pct), Austria (8.9 pct) and Holland (10.4 pct) the lowest rates.

Source: AMNA