A report released by the Eurostat showed that in January, the unemployment rate was 6.4%, confirming economists' forecasts, while the December figure was revised to 6.5% from 6.4%. A year earlier, the unemployment rate was at 6.6%. Meanwhile, the EU unemployment rate was 6.0%, stable compared to December and down from 6.1% in January 2023. Among the largest eurozone economies, Spain continues to report the highest jobless rate at 11.6%, followed by France at 7.5% and Italy at 7.2%. In contrast, Germany recorded the lowest rate at 3.1%.
Eurostat reported that in January, the number of unemployed persons in the eurozone decreased by 34,000 compared to December and by 232,000 in annual terms, to 11.009 million. As for the EU countries, the number of unemployed amounted to 13.144 million (-7,000 for the month and -10,000 compared to January 2023).
The data also showed that youth unemployment (under 25) in the eurozone increased by 66,000 compared to January 2023, reaching 2.315 million. In the EU, youth unemployment increased by 168,000, to 2.898 million. Meanwhile, the youth unemployment rate was 14.9% in the EU and 14.5% in the eurozone, both stable compared to the previous month.
Eurostat also reported that in the EU, the unemployment rate among women remained unchanged in January (6.3%), while the unemployment rate among men was 5.7%, as in December. In the eurozone, the unemployment rate for women was 6.8% and the unemployment rate for men was 6.1%, both stable compared with December.