Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, reported that in February of the current year the unemployment rate in the European Union member states (EU-28) declined to 9.8 percent, down from 9.9 percent in January this year and from 10.5 percent in the same month last year. The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the euro area was 11.3 percent in February, slightly down from the previous month and decreasing from 11.8 percent in February 2014.
In February this year, the unemployment rate in the EU-28 fell in 22 states and increased in six states, both on year-on-year basis.
Among the EU-28 member states, in February the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Germany (4.8%) and in Austria (5.8%) and the highest in Greece (26% in December 2014) and in Spain (23.2%).
Meanwhile, in February this year the unemployment rate in the United States was 5.5 percent, down from 5.7 percent in the previous month and declining from 6.7 percent in February 2014.