Member States
Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.7%), Germany (5.1%) and Malta (5.7%), and the highest in Greece (26.8% in March 2014) and Spain (25.1%).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in twenty one Member States, increased in six and remained stable in Austria. The largest decreases were registered in Hungary (10.5% to 7.9% between April 2013 and April 2014), Portugal (16.9% to 14.3%) and Ireland (13.9% to 12.0%), and the highest increases in Luxembourg (5.8% to 6.3%), Italy (12.1% to 12.6%), Finland (8.1% to 8.5%) and the Netherlands (6.6% to 7.0%).
In May 2014, the unemployment rate in the United States was 6.3%, stable compared with April 2014, and down from 7.5% in May 2013.
Youth unemployment
In May 2014, 5.187 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU28, of whom 3.356 million were in the euro area. Compared with May 2013, youth unemployment decreased by 464 000 in the EU28 and by 205 000 in the euro area. In May 2014, the youth unemployment rate was 22.2% in the EU28 and 23.3% in the euro area, compared with 23.6% and 23.9% respectively in May 2013. In May 2014, the lowest rates were observed in Germany (7.8%), Austria (8.9%) and the Netherlands (10.8%), and the highest in Greece (57.7% in March 2014), Spain (54.0%) and Croatia (48.7% in the first quarter of 2014).
