These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Netherlands (4.4%), Austria (4.8%) and Luxembourg (5.0%), and the highest in Spain (20.7%), Latvia (19.4% in the second quarter of 2010) and Lithuania (18.4% in the third quarter of 2010).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in eight Member States and increased in nineteen. The largest falls were observed in Germany (7.5% to 6.7%), Malta (6.9% to 6.2%), Sweden (8.8% to 8.1%) and Finland (8.7% to 8.0%). The highest increases were registered in Lithuania (14.4% to 18.4% between the third quarters of 2009 and 2010), Greece (9.2% to 12.2% between the second quarters of 2009 and 2010) and Latvia (16.5% to 19.4% between the second quarters of 2009 and 2010).
Between October 2009 and October 2010, the unemployment rate for males rose from 9.8% to 9.9% in the euro area and from 9.5% to 9.6% in the EU27. The female unemployment rate increased from 9.9% to 10.3% in the euro area and from 9.2% to 9.6% in the EU27.
In October 2010, the youth unemployment rate (under-25s) was 20.1% in the euro area and 20.4% in the EU27. In October 2009 it was 20.2% and 20.6% respectively. The lowest rates were observed in Germany and the Netherlands (both 8.5%) and Austria (9.8%), and the highest rates in Spain (43.2%), Lithuania (35.3% in the third quarter of 2010) and Latvia (34.0% in the second quarter of 2010).
In the USA, the unemployment rate was 9.6% in October 2010. In Japan it was 5.0% in September 2010.
