Unemployment rate stable at over 11-year low in November
Labor market conditions in the common currency bloc improved somewhat in November, according to data released by Eurostat. The number of unemployed people decreased by 10,000, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged from October’s 7.5% in November. The figure represents the joint-lowest unemployment rate since July 2008.
Looking at the countries with data available, four economies saw their unemployment rates inch down in October, including France and Spain. In contrast, five economies saw their unemployment rates rise, while the rest of the bloc saw unchanged labor market conditions—including Germany and Italy.
Despite a large overall improvement in the Eurozone over recent years, disparities in the labor market among core and periphery countries persist. Greece is the economy in the Eurozone with by far the highest unemployment rate (16.8%, data refers to September), followed by Spain (14.1%). At the other end of the spectrum, Germany (3.1%), Malta (3.5%) and the Netherlands (3.5%) have the lowest unemployment rates.