Euro area unemployment holds at 6.3% in June

The euro area’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.3% in June compared with both the previous month and the same period last year, Eurostat said Thursday.

The unemployment rate across the European Union was also stable on a monthly and annual basis at 6%.

The EU’s statistical office estimated that 13.32 million people were unemployed across the bloc in June, including 11.13 million in the euro area.

Compared with May, the number of unemployed people increased by 79,000 in the EU and by 71,000 in the euro area.

On an annual basis, the number of unemployed people rose by 112,000 in the EU and by 43,000 in the euro area.

Among EU members, the highest unemployment rates were recorded in Finland at 10.5%, Spain at 10.1%, Sweden at 8.7%, and France at 8.2%.

The lowest rates were registered in the Greek Cypriot Administration and Bulgaria at 3% each, followed by Poland at 3.1% and Czechia at 3.3%.

The number of unemployed people under the age of 25 totaled 2.99 million in the EU, including 2.35 million in the euro area.

The EU youth unemployment rate edged up to 15.5% from 15.4% in May, while the euro area rate declined to 14.8% from 14.9%.

Compared with the previous month, the number of unemployed young people increased by 29,000 in the EU but remained unchanged in the euro area.

The unemployment rate among women in the EU fell to 6.1% from 6.2%, while the rate among men rose to 5.9% from 5.8%.

In the euro area, the unemployment rate for women remained unchanged at 6.4%, while the rate for men increased to 6.2% from 6.1%.