On April 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 February this year, rising from 10.1 percent in January this year. The unemployment rate in the region was 9.5 percent in February 2011.
Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates in February were recorded in Austria at 4.2 percent, in the Netherlands at 4.9 percent, in Luxembourg at 5.2 percent and in Germany at 5.7 percent, while the highest rates were seen in Spain at 23.6 percent and in Greece at 21 percent (in December 2011).
Meanwhile, in February, the unemployment rate in the US was 8.3 percent, while in January Japan's unemployment rate was 4.7 percent.