In September 2007, the lowest rates were registered in the Netherlands (3.1%) and Denmark (3.3% in August 2007), and the highest in Slovakia (11.1%) and Poland (8.8%). These figures are published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union and August’s figures have been changed after the use of a different base for Germany’s figures, which raised the Eurozone figures from 6.9% to 7.4%.

Twenty-three Member States recorded a fall in their unemployment rate over a year and three an increase, while the unemployment rate was stable in Luxembourg. The largest relative falls were observed in Poland (12.9% to 8.8%) and Lithuania (6.0% to 4.1%). The highest relative increases were registered in Ireland (4.1% to 4.8%) and Portugal (7.6% to 8.3%).

The unemployment rate for males fell from 7.2% to 6.6% between September 2006 and September 2007 in the Eurozone and from 7.4% to 6.5% in the EU27. The female unemployment rate declined from 9.2% to 8.3% in the Eurozone and from 8.7% to 7.7% in the EU27.

In September 2007, the unemployment rate for under-25s was 14.9% in the Eurozone and 15.1% in the EU27. In September 2006 it was 15.9% and 16.9% respectively. The lowest rates for under-25s were observed in the Netherlands (5.6%), Denmark (6.5% in August 2007) and Austria (8.0%), and the highest in Greece (22.9% in the Q2 2007), France (21.6%), Romania (19.6%) and Poland (19.2%). (finfacts)