On June 1, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, reported that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the European Union member states (EU-27) was 10.3 percent in April this year, almost stable compared to 10.2 percent recorded in March. The unemployment rate in the region was 9.5 percent in April 2011. The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the euro area was 11 percent in April 2012, stable compared with March this year. It was 9.9 percent in April 2011.
Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates in April were recorded in Austria at 3.9 percent, in Luxembourg and in the Netherlands both at 5.2 percent and in Germany at 5.4 percent, while the highest rates were seen in Spain at 24.3 percent and in Greece at 21.7 percent (in February) and in Portugal at 15.2 percent.
Meanwhile, in April, the unemployment rate in the US was 8.1 percent, while Japan's unemployment rate was 4.6 percent.