Eurostat: Croatia's June unemployment rate down for fourth consecutive month

Croatia recorded a further drop in unemployment in June 2015, for the fourth consecutive month, while unemployment in the European Union and the euro area has been stagnating for three months in a row, according to figures released by the EU statistical office Eurostat on Friday.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, calculated according to the methodology used by the International Labour Organisation, was reduced in Croatia from 15.7% in May to 15.3% in June, declining for four straight months. In June 2014, it stood at 16.9%, Eurostat said.

A total of 292,000 Croatians were jobless in June 2015, down by 7,000 from May 2015. Compared with June 2014, their number fell by 29,000.

The highest unemployment rates were recorded in Greece (25.6% in April) and Spain (22.5), while the lowest rates were observed in Germany (4.7%) and the Czech Republic (4.9%).

Compared with June 2014, the unemployment rate in June 2015 decreased in 21 EU member states, increased in five and stagnated in France and Cyprus.

The EU28 unemployment rate in June 2015 was 9.6%, remaining at the previous two months' levels. In June 2014 it was 10.2%. The euro area unemployment rate in June 2015 remained unchanged in relation to the previous two months, at 11.1%. In June 2014 it stood at 11.6%.

Figures showed that 23.296 million EU citizens were out work in June 2015, of whom 17.756 million in the euro area. Compared with May 2015, their number in the EU28 had been reduced by 32,000, while in the euro area it had gone up by 31,000. Compared with June 2014, the number of job-seekers fell by 1.448 million in the EU28 and by 811,000 in the euro area.

The EU28 youth unemployment rate, among people under 25, was 20.7% in June 2015, the same as in the two previous months, while in June 2014 it was 22.1%. In the euro area, the youth unemployment rate went up from 22.3% in May to 22.5% in June. In June last year it was 23.6%.

The number of young unemployed people in the EU28 in June 2015 was 4.724 million, including 3.181 million in the euro area. Compared with June 2014, their number dropped by 386,000 in the EU28 and by 225,000 in the euro area.

With a youth unemployment rate of 43.1% in the second quarter of 2015, Croatia was among the EU countries with the highest youth unemployment rates -- Greece (53.2% in April), Spain (49.2%) and Italy (44.2%). The lowest youth unemployment rates were recorded in Germany (7.1%), Malta (10%), Estonia (10.1% in May), Denmark and Austria (both 10.3%). 

(Text: Hina)

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