Euro Area: Unemployment rate stable in December
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate came in at 6.4% in December, unchanged from November.
10 economies saw their unemployment rates remain stable in December, including France and Germany. Meanwhile, five economies saw their unemployment rates decrease, including Italy and Spain, while five economies saw their unemployment rates increase, including the Netherlands.
Significant disparities in labor market conditions between core and periphery countries persist. Spain is the economy with the highest unemployment rate of 11.7%, followed at some distance by Greece (9.2%). At the other end of the spectrum, Malta (24%) and Germany (3.1%) have the lowest unemployment rates.