ZAGREB, June 1, 2018 - Croatia's unemployment rate fell again in April for the sixth consecutive month and the country recorded one of the biggest annual decreases in unemployment in the European Union, the European statistical office Eurostat reported on Friday.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the European Union was 7.1% in April 2018, stable compared with March 2018 and down from 7.8% in April 2017. This remains the lowest rate recorded since September 2008, Eurostat reported.
The euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 8.5% in April 2018, down from 8.6% in March 2018 and 9.2% in April 2017, the report said.
Eurostat estimates that 17.462 million men and women in the EU, of whom 13.880 million in the euro area, were unemployed in April 2018. Compared with March 2018, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 53,000 in the EU and by 56,000 in the euro area.
Compared with April 2017, unemployment fell by 1.633 million in the EU and by 1.088 million in the euro area.
The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in Croatia in April fell to its lowest level in nine years at 9.1%. In March, it was 9.3%. There were 164,000 citizens without work in Croatia in April, down 4,000 from March. Compared to April last year their number was reduced by 47,000.
Only Italy and Estonia had the same or higher unemployment rates compared to April 2017. In Italy unemployment stayed at the April 2017 level and in Estonia it went up by 0.3 pp.
The annual unemployment rate dropped the most in Cyprus, by 3.1 pp, followed by Croatia, with a drop of 2.4 pp, and Portugal, with a drop of 2.1 pp.
In April 2018, the youth unemployment rate was 15.3% in the EU and 17.2% in the euro area, compared with 17.2% and 19.3% respectively in April 2017.
There were a total of 3.426 million young persons unemployed in the EU in April of whom 2.433 million were in the euro area. Compared with April 2017, youth unemployment decreased by 464,000 in the EU and by 306,000 in the euro area.
Croatia doesn't record monthly youth unemployment figures. In the first quarter of 2018, the youth unemployment rate was 23.5%, with 36,000 young people under 25 being out of work, Eurostat's report notes.
