EU jobless rate rose to 9.7% in September

THE PROPORTION of people unemployed in the European Union rose to 9.7 per cent in September, according to new figures published yesterday.

The EU statistics agency, Eurostat, estimates that 22.12 million men and women were unemployed in September, up by more than 5 million compared to the same month a year ago, when the rate stood at 7.1 per cent.

The number of people without jobs in the euro zone rose by 3.2 million over the year to the end of September to 15.32 million, equivalent to 9.2 per cent of the workforce.

All member states recorded a rise in their unemployment rate over the year, with the largest increase registered in Latvia, where 19.7 per cent of the adult population are without work.

Over the year to the end of September the jobless rate for males rose from 6.8 per cent to 9.3 per cent for the EU 27. The euro zone unemployment rate increased from 7.1 per cent to 9.6 per cent.

The female unemployment rate rose from 8.4 per cent to 9.8 per cent in the euro zone and from 7.5 per cent to 9 per cent in the EU as a whole during the same period.

Across the EU, the youth unemployment rate was 20.1 per cent, compared to 20.2 per cent for the euro zone.

Spain, which remains mired in recession, is an unemployment black spot for those under the age of 25, with the rate climbing to 41.7 per cent from a revised 40.9 per cent in August. By contrast, Germany’s youth unemployment rate is 10.4 per cent.

The latest official data reveals that consumer prices in the euro zone fell year-on-year for a fifth straight month in October, but are expected to start growing in November as oil costs rise above year-earlier levels.

Meanwhile, the EU’s surplus in trade in goods with the US declined by half during the first six months of 2009. Germany recorded the largest surplus in trade with the US in the first half of 2009, followed by Ireland and Italy.

During the first half of the year the value of EU exports to the US fell to €101 billion compared to €127 billion in the same period a year earlier. Imports decreased to €85 billion from €94 billion.