The unemployment rate in the European Union (EU) was 6 per cent in January—stable compared with December 2023 and down from 6.1 per cent in January 2023, according to Eurostat, the EU statistical office.

Eurostat estimates that 13.144 million persons in the EU, of whom 11.009 million in the euro area, were unemployed in January 2024.

Compared with December 2023, unemployment decreased by 7,000 in the EU and by 34,000 in the euro area.

Compared with January 2023, unemployment decreased by 10,000 in the EU and by 232,000 in the euro area.

In January, 2.898 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of whom 2.315 million were in the euro area.

The youth unemployment rate during the month was 14.9 per cent in the EU and 14.5 per cent in the euro area, both stable compared to the previous month’s figures.

Compared with December last year, youth unemployment decreased by 4,000 both in the EU and in the euro area. Compared with January last year, youth unemployment increased by 168,000 in the EU and by 66,000 in the euro area in January this year.

The unemployment rate for women was 6.3 per cent and that for men was 5.7 per cent in the EU in January 2024—both stable compared with the previous month’s figures.

In the euro area, the unemployment rate for women was 6.8 per cent and the unemployment rate for men was 6.1 per cent during the month—both stable compared with December 2023 figures.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)