Eurozone unemployment still at its lowest level in August, at 6.4%

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The unemployment rate across the eurozone fell by 0.1 points in August compared with July, to 6.4% of the working population, its lowest level ever, according to Eurostat data published on Monday.

The indicator had already reached 6.4% in June, its lowest level since the European statistics office began compiling this data in April 1998 for countries that have adopted the single European currency.

It had been forecast at 6.4% in July before being revised to 6.5%.

The unemployment rate is 0.3 points lower than in August 2022.

For the European Union as a whole, the unemployment rate stood at 5.9% in August, the same as in May and June, and 0.1 points lower than in July, according to the same source.

Unemployment has fallen sharply in Europe since mid-2021, thanks to the strong post-COVID economic recovery that followed a historic recession.

Despite a stagnation in economic activity in the eurozone from the end of 2022, fuelled by the war in Ukraine and soaring inflation, it has continued to fall before stabilising since the spring at a level not seen for a quarter of a century.

Young more affected

Some 12.8 million men and women were unemployed in August in the EU’s twenty-seven member states, including 10.9 million in the 20 countries sharing the single currency.

The unemployment rate reached 7.3% in France in August, as in Italy, down by 0.1 points and 0.2 points respectively compared with July.

It stood at 3% in Germany, as in the previous three months.

The lowest rates in the EU were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.5%), Malta (2.7%) and Poland (2.8%).

The highest rates were recorded in Spain (11.5%) and Greece (10.9%).

People under 25 remain more affected than the general population, with an August unemployment rate of 14% in the EU as a whole and 13.8% in the eurozone.

Eurostat data are based on the International Labour Office (ILO) definition of unemployment. The unemployed are defined as those who have actively sought work in the previous four weeks and are available to start work in the next two weeks.