On August 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 9.4 percent in June this year, remaining unchanged compared to the revised May levels. The unemployment rate in the region was 9.7 percent in June 2010.
Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria at four percent, in the Netherlands at 4.1 percent and in Luxembourg at 4.5 percent, and the highest rates were seen in Spain at 21 percent, in Lithuania at 16.3 percent (in Q1 2011) and in Latvia at 16.2 percent (in Q1 2011).
Meanwhile, in the US the unemployment rate was 9.2 percent in June this year, while in Japan the unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in May.