These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (3.8%) and the Netherlands (4.4% in June 2010), and the highest rates in Spain (20.3%), Latvia (20.1% in the first quarter of 2010) and Estonia (18.6% in the second quarter of 2010).
Compared with a year ago, three Member States recorded a fall in the unemployment rate, two remained stable and twenty-two showed an increase. The falls were observed in Austria (5.1% to 3.8%), Malta (7.3% to 6.5%) and Germany (7.6% to 6.9%). The highest increases were registered in Latvia (13.5% to 20.1% between the first quarters of 2009 and 2010) and Lithuania (11.2% to 17.3% between the first quarters of 2009 and 2010).
Between July 2009 and July 2010, the unemployment rate for males rose from 9.5% to 9.8% in the euro area and from 9.2% to 9.6% in the EU27. The female unemployment rate increased from 9.8% to 10.3% in the euro area and from 9.0% to 9.6% in the EU27.
In July 2010, the youth unemployment rate (under-25s) was 19.6% in the euro area and 20.2% in the EU27. In July 2009 it was 19.8% and 20.1% respectively. The lowest rate was observed in the Netherlands (8.1% in June 2010), and the highest rates in Spain (41.5%), Latvia (39.5% in the first quarter of 2010) and Estonia (37.2% in the second quarter of 2010).
In July 2010, the unemployment rate was 9.5% in the USA and 5.2% in Japan.
