On April 29, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, reported that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the European Union member states (EU-27) was 9.5 percent in March this year, remaining unchanged compared to the revised February levels. The unemployment rate in the region was 9.7 percent in March 2010.
Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Netherlands at 4.2 percent, in Austria at 4.3 percent and in Luxembourg at 4.5 percent, and the highest rates were seen in Spain at 20.7 percent, in Lithuania at 17.3 percent (in Q4 2010) and in Latvia at 17.2 percent (in Q4 2010).
Meanwhile, in the US the unemployment rate was 8.8 percent in March this year, while in Japan the unemployment rate was 4.6 percent in February.