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 (3.9%), Luxembourg and the Netherlands (both 5.2%) and Germany (5.4%), and the highest in Spain (24.3%), Greece (21.7% in February 2012), Latvia (15.2% in the first quarter of 2012) and Portugal (15.2%).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in eleven Member States, increased in fifteen, and remained stable in Ireland. The largest falls were observed in Estonia (13.6% to 10.8% between the first quarters of 2011 and 2012), Lithuania (16.0% to 13.8%) and Latvia (16.8% to 15.2% between the first quarters of 2011 and 2012). The highest increases were registered in Greece (15.2% to 21.7% between February 2011 and February 2012), Spain (20.7% to 24.3%) and Cyprus (7.1% to 10.1%).
Between April 2011 and April 2012, the unemployment rate for males increased from 9.7% to 10.9% in the euro area and from 9.4% to 10.2% in the EU27. The female unemployment rate rose from 10.2% to 11.2% in the euro area and from 9.6% to 10.3% in the EU27.
In April 2012, 5.462 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU27, of whom 3.358 million were in the euro area. Compared with April 2011, youth unemployment rose by 268 000 in the EU27 and by 214 000 in the euro area. In April 2012, the youth unemployment rate was 22.4% in the EU27 and 22.2% in the euro area. In April 2011 it was 20.9% and 20.4% respectively. The lowest rates were observed in Germany (7.9%), Austria (8.9%) and the Netherlands (9.4%), and the highest in Greece (52.7% in February 2012) and Spain (51.5%).
In April 2012, the unemployment rate was 8.1% in the USA and 4.6% in Japan.
