Both, the euro area and the EU unemployment rate remain unchanged in December 2011 compared with November. The euro area unemployment rate was 10.4% and the EU unemployment rate was 9.9%. However compared with December 2010, unemployment rose by 923,000 in the EU and by 751,000 in the euro area.

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, published the data on unemployment rates for the EU and the euro area for December 2011. According to the figures, 23.816 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 16.469 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in December 2011. The unemployment rate for both remained unchanged with compared to November (10,4% for the euro area and 9,9% for the EU).

With regard to the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.1%), the Netherlands (4.9%) and Luxembourg (5.2%), and the highest in Spain (22.9%), Greece (19.2% in October 2011) and Lithuania (15.3% in the third quarter of 2011). Compared with a year ago, the largest falls were observed in Estonia (16.1% to 11.3% between the third quarters of 2010 and 2011), Latvia (18.2% to 14.8% between the third quarters of 2010 and 2011) and Lithuania (18.3% to 15.3% between the third quarters of 2010 and 2011). The highest increases were registered in Greece (13.9% to 19.2% between October 2010 and October 2011), Cyprus (6.1% to 9.3%) and Spain (20.4% to 22.9%). In December 2011, Eurostat also published that the lowest regional unemployement rates for regions were recorded in the Netherlands and in Austria in 2010.

In December 2011, 5.493 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of whom 3.290 million were in the euro area. Furthermore, the youth unemployment rate was 22.1% in the EU and 21.3% in the euro area. In December 2010 it was 21.0% and 20.6% respectively. The lowest rates were observed in Germany (7.8%), Austria (8.2%) and the Netherlands (8.6%), and the highest in Spain (48.7%), Greece (47.2% in October 2011) and Slovakia (35.6%).