The unemployment rate in the EU hit a new record low in June: According to Eurostat which is the EU’s Statistical Office there were 6.9% of EU citizens without a job. In May the unemployment rate had still stood at 7% and in June 2006 even at 7.9%.
Unemployment was lowest in the Netherlands (3.3%), Denmark (3.5%) and Cyprus (3.9%) and highest in Slovakia and Poland with over 10% each. On the whole the unemployment rate fell in 22 member states over the last year, rose in four member states and remained unchanged in one country (Rumania). The strongest relative decreases were registered in Poland (from 13.9 to 10.2%) and in Sweden (from 7.2 to 5.3%).
Eurostat estimates that in June 2007 in the EU27 there were in total 16.1 million unemployed people, 10.4 million of which in the Eurozone. In June 2006 this number had been 18.5 million in the EU of the 27. For comparison: in the USA and Japan the unemployment rates were 4.5% and 3.8% in June and May 2007 respectively.
