Eurostat published its latest figures on unemployment which highlight a slightly increase of the rates in January in comparison with December 2011. The euro area unemployment rate was 10.7% in January 2012, compared with 10.6% in December 2011, and the EU27 unemployment rate was 10.1%, compared with 10.0% in December 2011.

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, figures show an increase of the unemployment rates in the euro area and in the EU. In particular, it estimates that 24.325 million men and women in the EU were unemployed in January 2012. Compared with December 2011, the number of persons unemployed increased by 191,000 in the EU and by 185,000 in the euro area. However in December 2011 the rates on unemployment remained unchanged in comparison with November 2011.

Among Member States, the highest rates were registered in Spain (23.3%), Greece (19.9% in November 2011), Ireland and Portugal (both 14.8%). The highest increases were registered in Greece (14.1% to 19.9% between November 2010 and November 2011), Cyprus (6.3% to 9.6%) and Spain (20.6% to 23.3%). On the other hand, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.0%), the Netherlands (5.0%) and Luxembourg (5.1%), and the largest falls were observed in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

On the unemployment figures for young people, in January 2012, 5.507 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU. Compared with January 2011, youth unemployment increased by 269,000 in the EU27 and by 141,000 in the euro area. The highest rates were observed in Spain (49.9%), Greece (48.1% in November 2011) and Slovakia (36.0%), and the lowest rates, in Germany (7.8%), Austria (8.9%) and the Netherlands (9.0%).