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 (4.0%) and the Netherlands (4.3%), and the highest rates in Latvia (20.0% in the first quarter of 2010), Spain (19.9%) and Estonia (19.0% in the first quarter of 2010).
Compared with a year ago, five Member States recorded a fall in the unemployment rate and twenty-two an increase. The largest falls were observed in Austria (4.9% to 4.0%) and Germany (7.6% to 7.0%). The highest increases were registered in Estonia (11.0% to 19.0% between the first quarters of 2009 and 2010) and Latvia (13.5% to 20.0% between the first quarters of 2009 and 2010).
Between May 2009 and May 2010, the unemployment rate for males rose from 9.2% to 9.9% in the euro area and from 8.9% to 9.7% in the EU27. The female unemployment rate increased from 9.5% to 10.2% in the euro area and from 8.8% to 9.5% in the EU27.
In May 2010, the youth unemployment rate (under-25s) was 19.9% in the euro area and 20.5% in the EU27. In May 2009 it was 19.4% and 19.5% respectively. The lowest rate was observed in the Netherlands (8.1%), and the highest rates in Spain (40.5%), Estonia (39.8% in the first quarter of 2010) and Latvia (39.7% in the first quarter of 2010).
In May 2010, the unemployment rate was 9.7% in the USA and 5.2% in Japan.
