Data published by Eurostat showed that in May the unemployment rate fell to 6.6% from 6.7% in April (revised from +6.8%). Economists had expected the unemployment rate to rise to 6.8%. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in the European Union has not changed compared to April, and amounted to 6.1%.
Eurostat reported that in May, the number of unemployed in the eurozone decreased by 2.165 million in annual terms, to 11.004 million. As for the EU countries, the number of unemployed amounted to 13.066 million. Unemployment decreased by 2.515 million compared to May 2021.
The data also showed that youth unemployment (under 25) in the eurozone decreased by 89,000 compared to April and by 608,000 compared to May 2021, reaching 1,988 million. In the EU, youth unemployment decreased by 95,000 and 708,000, respectively, to 2.467 million. Meanwhile, the youth unemployment rate in the eurozone fell to 13,1% from 13.8% in April. In the EU, the youth unemployment rate was 13.3% compared to 13.8% in April.
Eurostat also reported that in the EU, the unemployment rate among women has not changed (6.5%), while the unemployment rate among men remained at 5.7%. In the eurozone, the unemployment rate among women fell to 7.1% from 7.2% in April, and the unemployment rate among men fell to 6.2% from 6.3%.