A report released by the Eurostat showed that in February, the unemployment rate was 6.5%, while the January figure was revised to 6.5% from 6.4%. Economists had expected unemployment to fall to 6.4%. A year earlier, the unemployment rate was at 6.6%. Meanwhile, the EU unemployment rate was 6.0%, also stable compared with January 2024 and compared with February 2023. Among the largest eurozone economies, Spain continues to report the highest jobless rate at 11.5%, followed by Italy at 7.5% and France at 7.4%. In contrast, Germany recorded the lowest rate at 3.2%.
Eurostat reported that in February, the number of unemployed persons in the eurozone increased by 17,000 compared to January and decreased by 30,000 in annual terms, to 11.102 million. As for the EU countries, the number of unemployed amounted to 13.249 million (-13,000 for the month and +156,000 compared to February 2023).
The data also showed that youth unemployment (under 25) in the eurozone increased by 91,000 compared to February 2023, reaching 2.319 million. In the EU, youth unemployment increased by 174,000, to 2.899 million. Meanwhile, the youth unemployment rate was 14.8% in the EU, down from 14.9% in January 2024, and 14.6% in the eurozone, stable compared to the previous month.
Eurostat also reported that in the EU, the unemployment rate among women remained unchanged in February (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 6.9% and the unemployment rate for men was 6.1%, both stable compared with January.