CYPRUS: Unemployment reached 14.7% in December, Eurostat says

According to Eurostat, the euro area (EA17) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 11.7% in December 2012, stable compared with November4. The EU27 unemployment rate was 10.7%, also stable compared with November4. In both zones, rates have risen markedly compared with December 2011, when they were 10.7% and 10.0% respectively.

In Cyprus, the unemployment rate for males was 15.6% and for females 13.9%. Youth unemployment in Cyprus in December reached 28.5%. In Eurozone the unemployment rate for males increased from 10.5% to 11.6% and for females increased from 10.9% to 11.8%. The youth unemployment rate was 24.0% in the euro area.

Eurostat estimates that 25.926 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 18.715 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in December 2012. Compared with November 2012, the number of persons unemployed was nearly stable in both the EU27 and the euro area. Compared with December 2011, unemployment rose by 1.763 million in the EU27 and by 1.796 million in the euro area.

In December 2012, 5.702 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU27, of whom 3.624 million were in the euro area. Compared with December 2011, youth unemployment rose by 237 000 in the EU27 and by 303 000 in the euro area.

Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.3%), Germany and Luxembourg (both 5.3%) and the Netherlands (5.8%), and the highest in Greece (26.8% in October 2012) and Spain (26.1%).