ZAGREB, January 30, 2020 - Unemployment in the European Union in December 2019 fell to its lowest level since the EU statistical office Eurostat began publishing monthly data, and there was a slight fall in Croatia as well, which puts Croatia close to the EU average, Eurostat said in a report published on Thursday.
The EU28 seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, based on the definition recommended by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), was 6.2% in December 2019, falling by 0.1% compared to November. This is the lowest rate recorded in the EU28 since the start of the EU monthly unemployment series in January 2000.
The same fall was recorded in the euro area, where seasonally adjusted unemployment fell to 7.4%, the lowest level since May 2008.
In December 2018, the EU28 unemployment rate was 6.6%, and in the euro area it was 7.8%
Eurostat estimates that 15.457 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 12.251 million in the euro area, were unemployed in December 2019.
The number of unemployed citizens decreased by 80,000 in the EU28, and by 34,000 in the euro area.
Compared to December 2018, the number of unemployed people in EU28 decreased by 747,000, and by 592,000 in the euro area.
Among EU member states for which Eurostat acquired data, the lowest seasonally adjusted rate was marked in Czechia (2%), followed by Germany and the Netherlands (3.2%).
In Croatia, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate measured using ILO methodology was 6.4% in December 2019, decreasing by 0.1% compared to November. It is the lowest recorded level since Eurostat first measured it.
In December 2018, the unemployment rate was 7.3%, making Croatia one of the EU member states with the sharpest decrease in unemployment on a yearly basis, together with Greece and Bulgaria.
According to Eurostat, there were 115,000 unemployed people in December 2019 in Croatia, that is 1,000 fewer compared to November. Compared to December 2018, the number of unemployed people fell by 17,000 in December 2019.
The highest unemployment rates in the EU were recorded in Greece (16.6% in October), followed by Spain (13.7% in December).
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