ZAGREB, February 1, 2018 – The European Union’s and the euro-area’s unemployment rates in December remained unchanged compared to the month before, while Croatia is pointed out as one of the countries with a pronounced decline in jobless rate year-on-year, according to a report provided by the EU’s statistical office Eurostat.
“The euro area (EA19) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 8.7% in December 2017, stable compared to November 2017 and down from 9.7% in December 2016. This remains the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since January 2009. The EU28 unemployment rate was 7.3% in December 2017, stable compared to November 2017 and down from 8.2% in December 2016. This remains the lowest rate recorded in the EU28 since October 2008,” Eurostat has reported.
Croatia’s December unemployment rate went down to 10%, falling by 2.5 percentage points compared to December 2016, and by 0.3 percentage points from November 2017. Thus, in December, there were 179,000 Croatians out of work, or 6,000 fewer than in November and 47,000 fewer than in December 2016.
“Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates in December 2017 were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.3%), Malta and Germany (both 3.6%). The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (20.7% in October 2017) and Spain (16.4%),” Eurostat reports.
“Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in all Member States for which data is comparable over time except in Finland where it remained stable. The largest decreases were registered in Greece (from 23.3% to 20.7% between October 2016 and October 2017), Croatia (from 12.5% to 10.0%), Portugal (from 10.2% to 7.8%) and Spain (from 18.5% to 16.4%).”
