Euro Area: Unemployment rate drops in September
Labor market conditions in the common currency block improved in September. The number of unemployed people decreased by 255,000, with the unemployment rate falling to 7.4% in September from 7.5% in August.
Looking at countries, 15 economies saw their unemployment rate decrease in September, including France, Italy and Spain. On the other hand, one economy (Portugal) saw its unemployment rate increase. Meanwhile, three economies saw a stable unemployment rate, including Germany.
Disparities in the labor market among core and periphery countries persist. Spain (14.6%) and Greece (13.3%) are the economies with the highest unemployment rates. At the other end of the spectrum, the Netherlands (3.1%), Malta (3.2%) and Germany (3.4%) have the lowest unemployment rates.