On May 2, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, reported that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the European Union member states (EU-27) was 10.2 percent in March this year, stable compared to February. The unemployment rate in the region was 9.4 percent in March 2011. The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the euro area was 10.9 percent in March 2012, compared with 10.8 percent in February this year. It was 9.9 percent in March 2011.
Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates in March were recorded in Austria at four percent, in the Netherlands at five percent, in Luxembourg at 5.2 percent and in Germany at 5.6 percent, while the highest rates were seen in Spain at 24.1 percent and in Greece at 21.7 percent (in January).
Meanwhile, in March, the unemployment rate in the US was 8.2 percent, while in February Japan's unemployment rate was 4.5 percent.