Malta has fallen one place to fourth in terms of lowest unemployment rates in Europe.
Malta was third in September, but is now fourth in the latest results published for October. The Czech Republic holds the best performance at 3.8%, followed by Germany at 4.1% and the UK at 4.3%. Malta is now in fourth place with Hungary at 4.9%.
Until July, Malta was in top place but dropped to third in August.
The euro area (EA19) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 9.8% in October 2016, down from 9.9% in September 2016 and from 10.6% in October 2015. This is the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since July 2009. The EU28 unemployment rate was 8.3% in October 2016, down from 8.4% in September 2016 and from 9.1% in October 2015. This is the lowest rate recorded in the EU28 since February 2009. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Eurostat estimates that 20.448 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 15.908 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in October 2016. Compared with September 2016, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 190 000 in the EU28 and by 178 000 in the euro area. Compared with October 2015, unemployment fell by 1.782 million in the EU28 and by 1.124 million in the euro area.
Member States
Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates in October 2016 were recorded in the Czech Republic (3.8%) and Germany (4.1%). The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (23.4% in August 2016) and Spain (19.2%).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate in October 2016 fell in twenty-four Member States, remained stable in Italy, while it increased in Estonia (from 5.7% to 7.2% between September 2015 and September 2016), Denmark (from 6.0% to 6.5%) and Austria (from 5.8% to 5.9%). The largest decreases were registered in Croatia (from 16.1% to 12.7%), Spain (from 21.2% to 19.2%) and Slovakia (from 11.1% to 9.1%).
In October 2016, the unemployment rate in the United States was 4.9%, down from 5.0% in both September 2016 and October 2015.
Youth unemployment
In October 2016, 4.169 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU28, of whom 2.939 million were in the euro area. Compared with October 2015, youth unemployment decreased by 350 000 in the EU28 and by 171 000 in the euro area. In October 2016, the youth unemployment rate was 18.4% in the EU28 and 20.7% in the euro area, compared with 19.9% and 22.2% respectively in October 2015. In October 2016, the lowest rate was observed in Germany (6.9%), and the highest were recorded in Greece (46.5% in August 2016), Spain (43.6%) and Italy (36.4%).