EU: Unemployment rate rises to 6.6% in April

ANKARA

Unemployment in the EU was 6.6% in April, the bloc's statistical office announced Wednesday.

April figure was up from 6.4% in the previous month, while it fell from 6.8% in the same month last year, Eurostat said.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate stood at 7.3% in the euro area, up from 7.1% in March.

The eurozone/euro area or EA19 represents member states that use the single currency -- euro -- while the EU27 includes all member countries of the bloc.

The Eurostat underlined that the COVID-19 containment measures applied since March have triggered a sharp increase in the number of claims for unemployment benefits across the EU.

"Compared with March 2020, the number of persons unemployed increased by 397,000 in the EU and by 211,000 in the euro area," it added.

Nearly 14.1 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 11.9 million in eurozone, were jobless as of April.

"The unemployment rate for women was 6.8% in the EU and for men was 6.4% in April 2020," it said.

Eurostat also said there were some 2.78 million unemployed young people -- under 25 -- in the EU27 in January, making for a 15.4% youth unemployment rate.

Czechia, Poland and the Netherlands posted the lowest unemployment rates with 2.1%, 2.9% and 3.4%, respectively in the month.

The highest rates were seen in Spain with 14.8% and Latvia with 9% in April.