Euro area unemployment rate at 12.1%

The Euro Area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 12.1% in May 2013, up from 12.0% in April^, according to a report published by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office.

The average unemployment rate within the 27 European member states (excluding Croatia, which was not yet a member when the research was conducted) was 10.9%, stable compared with the previous month.

In both zones, rates have risen markedly compared with May 2012, when they were 11.3% and 10.4% respectively.

The euro area consists of Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

Eurostat estimates that 26.405 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 19.222 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in May 2013. Compared with April 2013, the number of persons unemployed increased by
16,000 in the EU27 and by 67,000 in the euro area.

Compared with May 2012, unemployment rose by 1.324 million in the EU27 and by 1.344 million in the euro area

Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.7%), Germany (5.3%) and Luxembourg (5.7%), and the highest in Spain (26.9%) and Greece (26.8% in March 2013).

Unemployment in Malta was recorded at 6.2%.

Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate increased in 17 Member States and fell in 10. The highest increases were registered in Cyprus (11.4% to 16.3%), Greece (22.2% to 26.8% between March 2012 and March 2013) and Slovenia (8.6% to 11.2%).

The largest decreases were observed in Latvia (15.5% to 12.4% between the first quarters of 2012 and 2013), Estonia (10.0% to 8.3% between April 2012 and April 2013) and Lithuania (13.3% to 11.7%).

In May 2013, the unemployment rate in the United States was 7.6%, up from 7.5% in the previous month and down from 8.2% in May 2012.

In May 2013, 5.501 million young people (under 25) were unemployed in the EU27, of whom 3.531 million were in the euro area.

Compared with May 2012, youth unemployment decreased by 77,000 in the EU27 and increased by 60,000 in the euro area.

In May 2013, the youth unemployment rate was 23.0% in the EU27 and 23.8% in the euro area, compared with 22.8% and 23.0% respectively in May 2012.

In May 2013, the lowest rates were observed in Germany (7.6%), Austria (8.7%) and the Netherlands (10.6%), and the highest in Greece (59.2% in March 2013), Spain (56.5%) and Portugal (42.1%).