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 (4.5%), the Netherlands (5.3%), Germany and Luxembourg (both 5.5%), and the highest in Spain (25.1%) and Greece (23.1% in May 2012).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in ten Member States, increased in sixteen and remained stable in Slovenia. The largest falls were observed in Estonia (13.2% to 10.1% between the second quarters of 2011 and 2012), Lithuania (15.2% to 13.0%) and Latvia (17.0% to 15.9% between the second quarters of 2011 and 2012). The highest increases were registered in Greece (16.8% to 23.1% between May 2011 and May 2012), Spain (21.7% to 25.1%) and Cyprus (7.7% to 10.9%).
Between July 2011 and July 2012, the unemployment rate for males increased from 9.8% to 11.3% in the euro area and from 9.5% to 10.5% in the EU27. The female unemployment rate rose from 10.4% to 11.4% in the euro area and from 9.8% to 10.4% in the EU27.
In July 2012, 5.468 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU27, of whom 3.388 million were in the euro area. Compared with July 2011, youth unemployment rose by 182 000 in the EU27 and by 204 000 in the euro area. In July 2012, the youth unemployment rate was 22.5% in the EU27 and 22.6% in the euro area. In July 2011, it was 21.3% and 20.7% respectively. In July 2012 the lowest rates were observed in Germany (8.0%), Austria (8.9%) and the Netherlands (9.2%), and the highest in Greece (53.8% in May 2012) and Spain (52.9%).
In July 2012, the unemployment rate was 8.3% in the USA. In June 2012, the unemployment rate was 4.3% in Japan.
