Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, has announced that in December last year the unemployment rate in the European Union member states (EU-28) was nine percent, remaining stable compared to November and down from 9.9 percent in the same month of 2014. This is the lowest rate recorded in the EU-28 since June 2009. The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the euro area in December was 10.4 percent, down from 10.5 percent in November and from 11.4 percent in December 2014.
In December last year, the unemployment rate in the EU-28 fell in 23 states, remained stable in Estonia and increased in four states, on year-on-year basis. Among the EU-28 member states, in December the lowest employment rates were recorded in the Czech Republic and Germany (both 4.5%) and Malta and the United Kingdom (both 5.1%, UK rate is for October); and the highest in Greece (24.5% in October 2015) and Spain (20.8%).
Meanwhile, in December last year the unemployment rate in the United States was five percent, remaining stable compared to the previous month and declining from 5.6 percent in December 2014.