Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, has announced that in July this year the unemployment rate in the European Union member states (EU-28) was 7.7 percent, stable compared to June and declining from 8.5 percent in the same month of 2016. The July figure is the lowest rate recorded in the EU-28 since December 2008. The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the euro area in July was 9.1 percent, stable compared to June and decreasing from 10 percent in July of the previous year. This remains the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since February 2009.
In July, the unemployment rate in the EU-28 fell in all member states except Finland, on year-on-year basis. Among the EU-28 member states, in July the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.9%), Germany (3.7%) and Malta (4.1%), and the highest in Greece (21.7% in May 2017) and Spain (17.1%).
Meanwhile, in the given month the unemployment rate in the United States was 4.3 percent, down from 4.4 percent in June and declining from 4.9 percent in July 2016.