Twenty one Member States recorded a fall in their unemployment rate over a year, two remained stable and four reported an increase. The largest relative falls were observed in Slovenia (6.5% to 4.7%), Slovakia (14.4% to 11.0%) and Poland (15.1% to 11.8%). The highest relative increase was registered in Hungary (7.4% to 7.9%).
The unemployment rate for males fell from 7.0% to 6.2% between February 2006 and February 2007 in the euro area and from 7.4% to 6.5% in the EU27. The female unemployment rate declined from 9.7% to 8.9% in the euro area and from 9.2% to 8.4% in the EU27.
In February 2007, the unemployment rate for under-25s was 16.4% in the euro area and 16.9% in the EU27. In February 2006 it was 17.4% and 18.1% respectively. The lowest rates for under-25s were observed in Denmark and the Netherlands (both 6.7%); the highest in Poland (25.5%), Greece (25.5% in the fourth quarter 2006), and Romania (23.6%).
Eurostat estimates that 17.2 million men and women in the EU27, of which 11.0 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in February 2007. In February 2006, 19.1 million men and women in the EU27, of which 12.2 million were in the euro area, were unemployed.
The US unemployment rate was 4.5% in February 2007, and the Japanese rate was 4.0% in January 2007.
