On June 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 June this year, remaining unchanged compared to May levels. The unemployment rate in the region was nine percent in June 2009. The unemployment rate in the EU-27, which increased steadily beginning from the second quarter of 2008, has trended sideways for the last four months.
Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria at 3.9 percent and in the Netherlands at 4.4 percent, while the highest rate was seen in Spain at 20 percent.
Meanwhile, in the US the unemployment rate was 9.5 percent in June this year, while in Japan the unemployment rate was 5.2 percent in May.