A report released by the Eurostat showed that in March, the unemployment rate remained at 6.5%, confirming economists' expectations. A year earlier, the unemployment rate was at 6.6%. Meanwhile, the EU unemployment rate was 6.0% in March, down from 6.1% in February and stable compared with March 2023. Among the largest eurozone economies, Spain continues to report the highest jobless rate at 11.7%, followed by France at 7.3% and Italy at 7.2%. Conversely, Germany recorded the lowest rate at 3.2%.
Eurostat reported that in March, the number of unemployed persons in the eurozone decreased by 94,000 compared to February and by 51,000 in annual terms, to 11.087 million. As for the EU countries, the number of unemployed amounted to 13.258 million (-74,000 for the month and +175,000 compared to March 2023).
The data also showed that youth unemployment (under 25) in the eurozone increased by 36,000 compared to March 2023, reaching 2.259 million. In the EU, youth unemployment increased by 150,000, to 2.858 million. Meanwhile, the youth unemployment rate was 14.6% in the EU, down from 14.7% in February, and 14.1% in the eurozone, down from 14.4% in the previous month.
Eurostat also reported that in the EU, the unemployment rate among women remained unchanged in March (6.4%), while the unemployment rate among men was 5.7%, down from 5.8% in the previous month. In the eurozone, the unemployment rate for women was 7.0%, stable compared with February, and the unemployment rate for men was 6.0%, down from 6.1% in the previous month.