Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, has announced that in February this year the unemployment rate in the European Union member states (EU-28) was 8.9 percent, remaining stable compared to January and declining from 9.7 percent in the same month of 2015. This is the lowest rate recorded in the EU-28 since May 2009. The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the euro area in February was 10.3 percent, down from 10.4 percent in January and from 11.2 percent in February last year.
In February this year, the unemployment rate in the EU-28 fell in 24 states, remained stable in Belgium and increased in three states, on year-on-year basis. Among the EU-28 member states, in February the lowest employment rates were recorded in Germany (4.3%) and the Czech Republic (4.5%); and the highest in Greece (24% in December 2015) and Spain (20.4%).
Meanwhile, in the given month the unemployment rate in the United States was 4.9 percent, remaining stable compared to the previous month and declining from 5.5 percent in February last year.