Cyprus unemployment reaches 4,5% in February

The unemployment rate in Cyprus reached 4,5% in February, compared to 4,3% in January.

According to data issued Wednesday by Eurostat, despite the slight increase in Cyprus’ unemployment, Cyprus has the second best performance in the EU after The Netherlands.

The unemployment rate for males in Cyprus rose from 4,0% in January to 4,2% in February. Female unemployment reached 4,9% in February (4,8% in January).

Youth unemployment (under 25) reached 10,4% in Cyprus while the EU average was 17,5%.

The euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 8,5% in February 2009, compared with 8,3% in January. It was 7,2% in February 2008.

The EU27 unemployment rate was 7,9% in February 2009, compared with 7,7% in January. It was 6,8% in February 2008.

Eurostat estimates that 19,156 million men and women in the EU27, of which 13,486 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in February 2009.

Compared with January, the number of persons unemployed increased by 478,000 in the EU27 and by 319,000 in the euro area.

Compared with February 2008, unemployment went up by 3.019 million in the EU27 and by 2.125 million in the euro area.

Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rate was recorded in the Netherlands (2,7%), and the highest rates in Spain (15,5%), Latvia (14,4%) and Lithuania (13,7%).