Euro area (EA13) seasonally-adjusted unemployment stood at 6.9% in July 2007, unchanged compared to June. It was 7.8% in July 2006. The EU27 unemployment rate was 6.8% in July 2007, compared with 6.9% in June. It was 7.9% in July 2006.



In July 2007, the lowest rates were registered in Denmark (3.2%), the Netherlands (3.4%) Cyprus (4.1%) and Austria (4.3%). Unemployment rates were highest in Slovakia (10.6%) and Poland (9.7%).

Twenty-three Member States recorded a fall in their unemployment rate over a year and four an increase. The largest relative falls were observed in Bulgaria (9.4% to 6.6%) and Poland (13.6% to 9.7%). The highest relative increases were registered in Portugal (7.5% to 8.2%) and Ireland (4.4% to 4.7%).

The unemployment rate for males fell from 6.7% to 5.8% between July 2006 and July 2007 in the euro area and from 7.1% to 6.1% in the EU27. The female unemployment rate declined from 9.2% to 8.3% in the euro area and from 8.8% to 7.8% in the EU27.

In July 2007, the unemployment rate for under-25s was 15.2% in the euro area and 15.4% in the EU27. In July 2006 it was 16.3% and 17.3% respectively. The lowest rates for under-25s were observed in Denmark (6.2%), the Netherlands (7.2%) and Austria (8.2%), and the highest in Greece (24.6% in the first quarter 2007), France (21.9%), Italy (20.2% in the first quarter 2007) and Poland (20.0%).

Eurostat estimates that 16.0 million men and women in the EU27, of which 10.4 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in July 2007. In July 2006, 18.3 million men and women in the EU27, of which 11.6 million were in the euro area, were unemployed.

The US unemployment rate was 4.6% in July 2007, and the Japanese rate was 3.7% in June 2007.