A report released by the Eurostat showed that in March, the unemployment rate was 6.2%, while the February figure was revised up to 6.2% from 6.1%. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to drop to 6.1%. A year earlier, the unemployment rate was at 6.5%. Meanwhile, the EU The unemployment rate was 5.8% in March, also stable compared with February and down from 6.0% in March 2024.
Among the largest eurozone economies, Spain continues to have the highest unemployment rate (10.9%), followed by France (7.3%) and Italy (6%). Meanwhile, Germany (3.5%) and the Netherlands (3.9%) reported the lowest unemployment rates.
Eurostat reported that in March, the number of unemployed people in the eurozone rose by 83,000 compared to February and fell by 288,000 in annual terms, to 10.818 million. As for the EU countries, the number of unemployed amounted to 12.904 million (+74,000 for the month and -340,000 compared to March 2024).
The data also showed that youth unemployment (under 25) in the eurozone decreased by 43,000 compared to March 2024, reaching 2.265 million. In the EU, youth unemployment fell by 63,000, to 2.822 million. Meanwhile, the youth unemployment rate was 14.5% in the EU, down from 14.6% in February, and 14.2% in the eurozone, down from 14.3% in the previous month.
In the EU, the unemployment rate for women was 6.0%, stable compared with the previous month, and the unemployment rate for men was 5.7%, up from 5.6% in February. In the eurozone, the unemployment rate for women was 6.4%, stable compared with the previous month, and the unemployment rate for men was 6.1%, up from 6.0% in February.