Monday, September 12, 2011

The unemployment rate in the EU has stabilized over the summer despite significant differences

Discover the monthly monitoring of the labor market within the EU. Despite persistent disparities and a very unfavorable economic context, the overall unemployment rate has barely increased over the summer.According to the latest Monthly Labour Market Fact Sheet published by the European Commission, the decrease seen in unemployment by 705,000 across the EU between April 2010 and March 2011 was followed by an increase of 83,000 in the following four months.

From June to July alone, unemployment rose by 18,000, which is setting the scene for weaker employment. At the same time, the average EU unemployment rate remained stable, at 9.5% - the same level as in May and June and 0.2 percentage point (pp) below the peak of July 2010.

Member States already experiencing a lower-than-average unemployment rate, such as Germany and Austria, have seen unemployment drop even further. In contrast, some peripheral countries, such as Greece and Spain, have seen persistently high or increasing unemployment.

These contrasts are also recorded in the case of youth unemployment. However, the EU youth unemployment overall rate is improving slightly, edging down in July 2011, at 20.7%, against 20.9% two months earlier, and down by 0.2 pp on July last year.

Hiring activity remains positive with an increase in online labour demand i.e. employer online recruitment activity, although the growth of the agency work sector has slowed down further.

In the current uncertain economic context, employment and unemployment expectations are at best mixed, as consumers' anticipation of a rise in unemployment has gained ground, while employers' expectations vary across sectors. The outlook is one of greater risk of deterioration and persistent divergences between Member States.

Source Press room - DG Employment, social affairs and inclusion

More information Press room - DG Employment, social affairs and inclusion

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