ZAGREB, April 1, 2020 – The EU seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was stable in February, remaining at the lowest level since the EU’s statistical office Eurostat started collecting data on a monthly basis, while in Croatia unemployment declined slightly.
According to revised Eurostat data, the EU seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate, based on the definition recommended by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), was 6.5% in February 2020, stable compared to the previous month.
The new lowest rate recorded in the EU since the start of Eurostat monthly unemployment series in January 2000 was registered in January 2020.
The euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate slipped by 0.1 percentage points compared to January 2020, to 7.3%, the lowest rate recorded since March 2008.
In February 2019, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 6.9% in the EU 27, and 7.8% in the euro area.
In February 2020, 13.984 million people were unemployed in the EU, of whom 12.047 million in the euro area.
Compared to January 2020, the number of unemployed persons in February 2020 decreased by 62,000 in the EU27, and by 88,000 in the euro area.
Among the EU member states with the lowest unemployment rates in February are the Czech Republic (2%), followed by the Netherlands and Poland (2.9%).
In Croatia, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate according to the ILO definition was 6.2% in February 2020, down by 0.1 percentage point compared to the previous month, when it was 6.3% according to Eurostat’s revised estimate.
In February 2019 it was 7.2%.
According to Eurostat data, 111,000 Croatian citizens were unemployed in February 2020, which is 2,000 fewer unemployed than in January.
The highest unemployment rate was registered again in Greece (16.3% in December 2019), followed by Spain (13.6% in February).
In February 2020, youth unemployment remained stable at 14.9% in the EU27, while it decreased slightly in the euro area, to 15.5%.
Compared to the previous year, youth unemployment is down by 0.6 percentage points in both areas.
In February 2020, 2.734 million citizens under the age of 25 were unemployed in the EU27, of whom 2.258 in the euro area.
On the yearly level, their number decreased by 85,000 in the EU27, and by 56,000 in the euro area.
The lowest rates of youth unemployment were registered in the Czech Republic and Germany (5.3%), followed by the Netherlands (6.3%).
The highest rates of youth unemployment were registered in Greece (34.7% in December 2019), followed by Spain (30.9%) and Italy (29.6%).
Croatia is not required to provide monthly data. In the last quarter of 2019, the youth unemployment rate in Croatia was 15.8%, and 23,000 citizens under the age of 25 were unemployed.
Eurostat thus increased its estimate of the unemployment rate in Croatia by 0.3 percentage points.
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