EU-27 unemployment rate remains at 9.6 percent

On April 30, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, reported that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the European Union member states (EU-27) was 9.6 percent in March this year, remaining unchanged compared to February levels. The unemployment rate in the region was 8.5 percent in March 2009.
 
Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Netherlands at 4.1 percent and in Austria at 4.9 percent, and the highest rates were seen in Latvia at 22.3 percent and in Spain at 19.1 percent.
 
Meanwhile, in the US the unemployment rate was 9.7 percent in March this year. In Japan the rate was 4.8 percent in February.