The latest data from Eurostat shows unemployment rates are getting slightly better in the euro area and the wider EU.
ADVERTISEMENTThe eurozone's unemployment rate fell to 6.4% in November 2023, down from 6.5% in the previous month and from 6.7% the previous year, according to the latest data from Eurostat, the EU's statistical office.
The unemployment rate in the EU as a whole was 5.9% in November, also down from 6% in October and from 6.1% in November 2022.
Eurostat estimates that almost 13 million people in the EU, of whom about 11 million are in the euro area, were unemployed in November 2023.
The youth (under 25s) unemployment rate was 14.5% both in the EU and in the eurozone, down from 14.8% in the previous month and roughly the same in November 2022 (in both regions).
When looking at the stats by sex, women's unemployment rate in the eurozone was 6.8%, down from 6.9% in October 2023. The rate for men was 6.1%, down from 6.2% the month before.
Swiss unemployment at lowest level since 2001
Similar news comes from eurozone neighbour Switzerland, which saw its annual unemployment rate fall to 2% last year, its lowest since 2001, according to figures published on Tuesday by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.
In 2022, the rate was 0.2 percentage points higher (2.2%).
Due to the weaker economic situation last year, unemployment in 2023 fell only until the spring, when it rose slightly from a historically low level.
Italy also follows the downward trend seen across Europe.
The latest data from the Italian National Statistics Institute shows that the unemployment rate fell to 7.5% in November 2023, 0.2 percentage points less than in October (7.7%). The youth unemployment rate dropped to 21%, down from 23.5% in the previous month.
