Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, has announced that in February this year the unemployment rate in the European Union member states (EU-28) was eight percent, down from 8.1 percent in January and declining from 8.9 percent in the same month of 2016. This remains the lowest rate recorded in the EU-28 since January 2009. The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the euro area in February was 9.5 percent, down from 9.6 percent in January and decreasing from 10.3 percent in February of the previous year. This remains the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since May 2009.
In February, the unemployment rate in the EU-28 fell in 26 states, on year-on-year basis. Among the EU-28 member states, in February the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Czech Republic (3.4%), Germany (3.9%) and Malta (4.1%), and the highest in Greece (23.1% in December 2016) and Spain (18.0%).
Meanwhile, in the given month the unemployment rate in the United States was 4.7 percent, down from 4.8 percent in January and declining from 4.9 percent in February 2016.