Eurostat informed that compared with August, in the euro area the unemployment rate was slightly higher in September. The EU unemployment rate was 10.6% in September 2012, stable compared with August. The lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria, Luxembourg, Germany and the Netherlands, and the highest in Spain (25.8%) and Greece (25.1% in July 2012).

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, published its latest figures on unemployment which shows that in September compared with August when the rate was of 11.5%, the euro area unemployment rate was slighter higher, reaching the 11.6%. The EU unemployment rate was 10.6% in September 2012, stable compared with August. However, in both zones, rates have risen significantly compared with September 2011, when they were 10.3% and 9.8% respectively. The EU and the euro area unemployment rates remained stable in August 2012 compared with July 2012.

With regard to the data by member state, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.4%), Luxembourg (5.2%), Germany and the Netherlands (both 5.4%), and the highest in Spain (25.8%) and Greece (25.1% in July 2012). Compared with a year ago, the largest decreases were observed in Lithuania (14.7% to 12.9%), Estonia (11.4% to 10.0% between August 2011 and August 2012), and Latvia (17.0% to 15.9% between the second quarters of 2011 and 2012). The highest increases were registered in Greece (17.8% to 25.1% between July 2011 and July 2012), Cyprus (8.5% to 12.2%), Spain (22.4% to 25.8%) and Portugal (13.1% to 15.7%).

On the unemployment rates of young people, in September 2012, the youth unemployment rate was 22.8% in the EU and 23.3% in the euro area, compared with 21.7% and 21.0% respectively in September 2011. In September 2012 the lowest rates were observed in Germany (8.0%), the Netherlands (9.7%) and Austria (9.9%), and the highest in Greece (55.6% in July 2012) and Spain (54.2%).