Greece tops the “black list” of European unemployment once again, according to seasonally adjusted figures released on October 31 by EU statistics office, Eurostat. Unemployment rates across the 28 member states was 10.1% in September 2014, while the highest rates were observed in Greece where it reached 26.4%. At the same time, in the 18-member eurozone, unemployment was at a stable 11.5%, compared with August 2014, but down from 12% in September 2013.
The European statistics office estimates that some 24.512 million men and women were unemployed last September, of whom more than half (18.347 million) were in the eurozone. Compared with August 2014, people without work have decreased by 108,000 in the European Union and by 19,000 in the eurozone. Compared with September 2013, unemployment fell by 1.818 million in the Union and by 826,000 in the eurozone.
The lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Germany, where only 5% of the total population did not have a job, and the highest in Greece, where more than one out of five citizens was unemployed (26.4%), followed by Spain with 24%.
Unemployment in Greece slightly decreased compared to September one year before, when it reached 27.8%. This is translated to a total of 1.282 million unemployed men and women. During the same period in 2013, this number was at 1.351 million; almost 70,000 higher.
The situation is even worse when it comes to youth unemployment for Greece, as in September it reached 50.7%, the second highest rate observed in the European Union, only behind Spain, where it reached 53.7%. In September 2014, 4.988 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of whom 3.340 million were in the eurozone. Compared with September 2013, youth unemployment decreased by 595,000 in the EU and by 213,000 in the eurozone. In September 2014, the youth unemployment rate was 21.6% in the EU and 23.3% in the eurozone, compared with 23.5% and 24% respectively in September 2013.
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