On January 6, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, reported that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the European Union member states (EU-27) was 9.8 percent in November 2011, remaining unchanged compared to October. The unemployment rate in the region was 9.6 percent in November 2010.
Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria at four percent and in Luxembourg and the Netherlands both at 4.9 percent, while the highest rates were seen in Spain at 22.9 percent, in Greece at 18.8 percent (in September 2011) and in Lithuania at 15.3 percent (in Q3 2011).
Meanwhile, in November 2011, the unemployment rate in the US was 8.6 percent, while in Japan the unemployment rate was 4.5 percent.