Brussels – The euro area (EA19) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 8.8% in October 2017, down from 8.9% in September 2017 and from 9.8% in October 2016. This is the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since January 2009. The EU28 unemployment rate was 7.4% in October 2017, down from 7.5% in September 2017 and from 8.3% in October 2016. This is the lowest rate recorded in the EU28 since November 2008. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Eurostat estimates that 18.243 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 14.344 million in the euro area, were unemployed in October 2017. Compared with September 2017, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 111,000 in the EU28 and by 88,000 in the euro area. Compared with October 2016, unemployment fell by 2.074 million in the EU28 and by 1.473 million in the euro area.
Member States
Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates in October 2017 were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.7%), Malta (3.5%) and Germany (3.6%). The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (20.6% in August 2017) and Spain (16.7%).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in all Member States for which data is comparable over time, except Finland where it remained stable. The largest decreases were registered in Cyprus (from 13.1% to 10.2%) and Greece (from 23.4% to 20.6% between August 2016 and August 2017).
In October 2017, the unemployment rate in the United States was 4.1%, down from 4.2% in September 2017 and from 4.8% in October 2016.
Youth unemployment
In October 2017, 3.722 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU28, of whom 2.657 million were in the euro area. Compared with October 2016, youth unemployment decreased by 380 000 in the EU28 and by 201 000 in the euro area. In October 2017, the youth unemployment rate was 16.5% in the EU28 and 18.6% in
the euro area, compared with 18.2% and 20.3% respectively in October 2016. In October 2017, the lowest rates were observed in Germany (6.6%) and the Czech Republic (7.2%), while the highest were recorded in Greece (40.2% in August 2017), Spain (38.2%) and Italy (34.7%).
