These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.0%), Luxembourg and the Netherlands (both 4.9%), and the highest in Spain (22.9%), Greece (18.8% in September 2011) and Lithuania (15.3% in the third quarter of 2011).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in fourteen Member States and rose in thirteen. The largest falls were observed in Estonia (16.1% to 11.3% between the third quarters of 2010 and 2011), Latvia (18.2% to 14.8% between the third quarters of 2010 and 2011) and Lithuania (18.3% to 15.3% between the third quarters of 2010 and 2011). The highest increases were registered in Greece (13.3% to 18.8% between September 2010 and September 2011), Cyprus (6.0% to 9.1%) and Spain (20.4% to 22.9%).
Between November 2010 and November 2011, the unemployment rate for males increased from 9.8% to 10.0% in the euro area and from 9.5% to 9.7% in the EU27. The female unemployment rate rose from 10.3% to 10.7% in the euro area and from 9.7% to 10.0% in the EU27.
In November 2011, 5.579 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU27, of whom 3.394 million were in the euro area. Compared with November 2010, youth unemployment increased by 335 000 in the EU27 and by 207 000 in the euro area. In November 2011, the youth unemployment rate was 22.3% in the EU27 and 21.7% in the euro area. In November 2010 it was 21.0% and 20.6% respectively. The lowest rates were observed in Germany (8.1%), Austria (8.3%) and the Netherlands (8.6%), and the highest in Spain (49.6%), Greece (46.6% in September 2011) and Slovakia (35.1%).
In November 2011, the unemployment rate was 8.6% in the USA and 4.5% in Japan.
