A sharp decline in Italy has helped the Eurozone’s unemployment figures fall to their lowest level in more than three years. The unexpected fall
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A sharp decline in Italy has helped the Eurozone’s unemployment figures fall to their lowest level in more than three years.
The unexpected fall surprised analysts. It now stands at 10.9%, and for the entire 28-member EU unemployment is at 9.5%, the lowest since June 2011.
Eurozone unemployment had been stubbornly stuck at over 11% for the last three months, but the picture remains uneven. Although youth unemployment at last showed signs of dropping after years of posting above-average figures, in some countries the young unemployed see little change.
For example, Europe’s unemployment leaders, Germany at 4.7% and Malta and the Czech Republic, with 5.1%, have found jobs for nearly all their school leavers, but in Greece and Spain, with 25% and 22% unemployment respectively, the drain of young workers abroad continues as their economies offer nothing for them.
Within the Eurozone only three members saw their unemployment rise in July; Finland, Lithuania, and France.
