On November 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 October this year, remaining unchanged compared to the revised September levels. The unemployment rate in the region was 9.4 percent in October 2009.
Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Netherlands at 3.8 percent, in Austria at 4.8 percent and in Luxembourg at 5 percent, and the highest rates were seen in Spain at 20.7 percent, in Latvia at 19.4 percent and in Lithuania at 18.4 percent.
Meanwhile, in the US the unemployment rate was 9.6 percent in October, while in Japan the unemployment rate was 5 percent in September.