Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, has announced that in May this year the unemployment rate in the European Union member states (EU-28) was 7.0 percent, stable as compared to April and down from 7.7 percent in the same month of 2017. The May figure is the lowest rate recorded in the EU-28 since August 2008.
The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the euro area in May was 8.4 percent, remaining unchanged from April and down from 9.2 percent in May of the previous year. This remains the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since December 2008.
In May, the unemployment rate in the EU-28 fell in all member states, on year-on-year basis. Among the EU-28 member states, in May the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.3%) and in Germany (3.4%), and the highest rates were observed in Greece (20.1% in March 2018) and Spain (15.8%).
Meanwhile, in the given month the unemployment rate in the United States was 3.8 percent, down from 3.9 percent in April and declining from 4.3 percent in May 2017.