A report released by the Eurostat showed that in June, the unemployment rate rose by 0.1% to 6.5%. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged. A year earlier, the unemployment rate was at 6.5%. Meanwhile, the EU unemployment rate was 6.0% in June, stable compared with May as well as with June 2023.
Among the largest eurozone economies, Spain continues to have the highest unemployment rate among (11.5%), followed by France (7.4%) and Italy (7%). Conversely, Germany recorded the lowest rate at 3.4%.
Eurostat reported that in June, the number of unemployed persons in the eurozone increased by 41,000 compared to May and by 81,000 in annual terms, to 11.122 million. As for the EU countries, the number of unemployed amounted to 13.258 million (+52,000 for the month and +188,000 compared to June 2023).
The data also showed that youth unemployment (under 25) in the eurozone increased by 8,000 compared to June 2023, reaching 2.270 million. In the EU, youth unemployment increased by 18,000, to 2.831 million. Meanwhile, the youth unemployment rate was 14.4% in the EU, down from 14.5% in May, and 14.1% in the eurozone, down from 14.2% in the previous month.
Eurostat also reported that in the EU, the unemployment rate for women was 6.3%, stable compared with May, and the unemployment rate for men was 5.8%, also stable compared with the previous month. In the eurozone, the unemployment rate for women was 6.8%, up from 6.7% in May, and the unemployment rate for men was 6.2%, stable compared with May.