Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, has announced that in May of the current year the unemployment rate in the European Union member states (EU-28) was 9.6 percent, remaining stable compared to April but down from 10.3 percent in the same month last year. The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the euro area was 11.1 percent in May, remained stable compared to the previous month and decreasing from 11.6 percent in May 2014.
In May this year, the unemployment rate in the EU-28 fell in 22 states and increased in five states and remained stable in one state, all on year-on-year basis.
Among the EU-28 member states, in May the lowest unemployment rate was recorded in Germany (4.7%) and the highest rates in Greece (25.6% in March 2015) and in Spain (22.5%).
Meanwhile, in May this year the unemployment rate in the United States was 5.5 percent, up from 5.4 percent in the previous month and declining from 6.3 percent in May 2014.