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%), the Netherlands (5.0%) and Luxembourg (5.1%), and the highest in Spain (23.3%), Greece (19.9% in November 2011), Ireland and Portugal (both 14.8%).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in ten Member States, remained unchanged in two and rose in fifteen Member States. The largest falls were observed in Latvia (18.2% to 14.7% between the third quarters of 2010 and 2011), Lithuania (17.5% to 14.3% between the fourth quarters of 2010 and 2011) and Estonia (13.9% to 11.7% between the fourth quarters of 2010 and 2011). The highest increases were registered in Greece (14.1% to 19.9% between November 2010 and November 2011), Cyprus (6.3% to 9.6%) and Spain (20.6% to 23.3%).
Between January 2011 and January 2012, the unemployment rate for males increased from 9.7% to 10.5% in the euro area and from 9.4% to 10.1% in the EU27. The female unemployment rate rose from 10.3% to 10.9% in the euro area and from 9.6% to 10.1% in the EU27.
In January 2012, 5.507 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU27, of whom 3.314 million were in the euro area. Compared with January 2011, youth unemployment increased by 269 000 in the EU27 and by 141 000 in the euro area. In January 2012, the youth unemployment rate was 22.4% in the EU27 and 21.6% in the euro area. In January 2011 it was 21.1% and 20.6% respectively. The lowest rates were observed in Germany (7.8%), Austria (8.9%) and the Netherlands (9.0%), and the highest in Spain (49.9%), Greece (48.1% in November 2011) and Slovakia (36.0%).
In January 2012, the unemployment rate was 8.3% in the USA. In December 2011 it was 4.6% in Japan.
