Malta slides to sixth place in lowest unemployment post in EU

Malta Independent Friday, 2 May 2014, 11:09 Last update: about 12 years ago

Where up to just some months ago Malta used to hold on to the fourth lowest unemployment place among the EU countries, it has now slid to the sixth place, Eurostat said today.

Actually, it is on the same level as the UK which has been placed at seventh place.

As predicted last month, Malta has been superceded by the Czech Republic whose upward trend has now carried it to 6.7% unemployment.

Malta's unemployment has been established by Eurostat as at 6.8%. According tio the figures that accomoany the report, Malta's unemployment in March has been set at 6.8% which is actually an improvement on February's figure of 6.9%. Malta's youth unemployment (under 25) has been established at 13.7%.

The euro area (EA18) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 11.8% in March 2014, stable since December 2013, but down from 12.0% in March 2013. The EU28 unemployment rate was 10.5% in March 2014, stable compared with February 2014, but down from 10.9% in March 2013.

These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Eurostat estimates that 25.699 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 18.913 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in March 2014. Compared with February 2014, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 66 000 in the EU28 and by 22 000 in the euro area. Compared with March 2013, unemployment decreased by 929 000 in the EU28 and by 316 000 in the euro area.

Member States

Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.9%), Germany (5.1%) and Luxembourg (6.1%), and the highest in Greece (26.7% in January 2014) and Spain (25.3%).

Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate increased in ten Member States, remained stable in three and fell in fifteen. The highest increases were registered in Cyprus (14.8% to 17.4%), the Netherlands (6.4% to 7.2%), Italy (12.0% to 12.7%) and Croatia (16.6% to 17.3%), and the largest decreases in Hungary (11.2% to 7.9% between February 2013 and February 2014), Latvia (13.9% to 11.6% between the fourth quarters of 2012 and 2013), Portugal (17.4% to 15.2%) and Ireland (13.7% to 11.8%).

In March 2014, the unemployment rate in the United States was 6.7%, stable compared with February 2014, but down from 7.5% in March 2013.