Press Release - 1 April 2020 February 2020 Euro area unemployment at 7.3% - EU at 6.5%
The euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 7.3% in February 2020 – the month before COVID-19 containment measures began to be widely introduced by Member States –, down from 7.4% in January 2020 and from 7.8% in February 2019. This is the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since March 2008. The EU unemployment rate was 6.5% in February 2020, stable compared with January 2020 and down from 6.9% in February 2019.
This remains the lowest rate recorded in the EU since the start of the monthly unemployment series in February 2000. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Eurostat estimates that 13.984 million men and women in the EU, of whom 12.047 million in the euro area, were unemployed in February 2020. Compared with January 2020, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 62 000 in the EU and by 88 000 in the euro area. Compared with February 2019, unemployment fell by 784 000 in the EU and by 663 000 in the euro area.
Member States
Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates in February 2020 were recorded in Czechia (2.0%), the Netherlands and Poland (both 2.9%). The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (16.3% in December 2019) and Spain (13.6%).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in 19 Member States, remained stable in Germany and Portugal, while it increased in Czechia (from 1.9% to 2.0%), Romania (from 3.8% to 3.9%), Luxembourg (from 5.4% to 5.7%), Estonia (from 4.2% to 4.7% between January 2019 and January 2020), Lithuania (from 6.0% to 6.6%) and Sweden (from 6.6% to 7.2%). The largest decreases were registered in Greece (from 18.5% to 16.3% between December 2018 and December 2019), Cyprus (from 7.5% to 5.8%) and Croatia (from 7.2% to 6.2%).
In February 2020, the unemployment rate in the United States was 3.5%, down from 3.6% in January 2020 and from 3.8% in February 2019.
Youth unemployment
In February 2020, 2.734 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of whom 2.258 million were in the euro area. Compared with February 2019, youth unemployment decreased by 85 000 in the EU and by 56 000 in the euro area. In February 2020, the youth unemployment rate was 14.9% in the EU and 15.5% in the euro area, compared with 15.5% and 16.1% respectively in February 2019. In February 2020, the lowest rates were observed in Czechia and Germany (both 5.3%) and the Netherlands (6.3%), while the highest were recorded in Greece (34.7% in December 2019), Spain (30.9%) and Italy (29.6%).
Geographical information
The euro area (EA19) includes Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland. The European Union (EU27) includes Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.
Methods and definitions
Eurostat produces harmonised unemployment rates for individual EU Member States, the euro area and the EU. These unemployment rates are based on the definition recommended by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The measurement is based on a harmonised source, the European Union Labour Force Survey (LFS). Based on the ILO definition, Eurostat defines unemployed persons as persons aged 15 to 74 who:
- are without work;
- are available to start work within the next two weeks;
- and have actively sought employment at some time during the previous four weeks.
The unemployment rate is the number of people unemployed as a percentage of the labour force. The labour force is the total number of people employed plus unemployed. In this news release unemployment rates are based on employment and unemployment data covering persons aged 15 to 74.
The youth unemployment rate is the number of people aged 15 to 24 unemployed as a percentage of the labour force of the same age. Therefore, the youth unemployment rate should not be interpreted as the share of jobless people in the overall youth population.
When data for the most recent month are not available for a Member State, EU and EA aggregates are calculated using the latest data available for that Member State.
Country notes
Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Sweden and Iceland: the trend component is used instead of the more volatile seasonally adjusted data. Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Norway: 3-month moving averages of LFS data are used instead of pure monthly indicators. Germany: due to the introduction of the new German system of integrated household surveys, including the LFS, the monthly unemployment rate for February 2020 is an estimation based on the figures recorded in previous periods.
page source https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/
