Cyprus witnessed Europe’s largest annual decrease in unemployment when the rate in July dropped to 7.7% from 10.7% the year before, according to Eurostat.
This means the number of registered unemployed in Cyprus was reduced by more than quarter reaching 34,000 people compared to 46,000 in July 2017 (The rate was 7.2% among men and 8.2% among women).
The unemployment rate in Cyprus fell to 7.7% in July from 7.9% in June.
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in all Member States.
The largest decreases were registered in Cyprus (from 10.7% to 7.7%), Greece (21.7% to 19.5% between May 2017 and May 2018), Portugal (8.9% to 6.8%) and Croatia (10.9% to 8.8%).
In July, the unemployment rate in the United States was 3.9%, down from 4% in June and from 4.3% in July 2017.
In the euro area (EA19) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 8.2% in July, stable compared with June and down from 9.1% in July 2017.
This is the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since November 2008.
The EU28 unemployment rate was 6.8% in July, down from 6.9% in June and from 7.6% in July 2017. This is the lowest rate recorded in the EU28 since April 2008.
Eurostat estimates that 16.823 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 13.381 million in the euro area, were unemployed in July.
Compared with June, the number of unemployed decreased by 82,000 in the EU28 and by 73,000 in the euro area.
Compared with July 2017, unemployment fell by 1.949 million in the EU28 and by 1.368 million in the euro area.
Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates in July were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.3%), Germany (3.4%) and Poland (3.5%).
The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (19.5% in May) and Spain (15.1%). In July 3.325 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU28, of whom 2.365 million were in the euro area.
The youth unemployment rate was 14.8% in the EU28 and 16.6% in the euro area, compared with 16.8% and 18.7% respectively in July 2017.
The lowest rates were observed in Germany (6.1%), Malta (6.3%) and the Czech Republic (6.6%), while the highest were recorded in Greece (39.7% in May), Spain (33.4%) and Italy (30.8%).
For Cyprus there was only Q1 data available when youth unemployment was at a relatively high 22.4%.
