The fall in unemployment could signal that economic conditions in the euro zone are also improving, brightening the outlook for Europe.
advertisementAccording to Eurostat, the euro zone unemployment rate reported today for April 2024 came in at a record low of 6.4%, above analysts' expectations of 6.5%. This was down from March's figure of 6.5%. The euro zone unemployment rate had been stagnant at 6.5% for the five months to March.
The number of unemployed people decreased by 100,000 from the previous month to 10,998,000. The unemployment rate for those under 25 also fell to 14.1% in April, down from 14.3% in the previous month.
Spain remains at the top of the list with an unemployment rate of 11.7%, France is in second place with an unemployment rate of 7.3%, Italy has an unemployment rate of 6.9%, while Germany has the lowest unemployment rate at 3.2%.
The female unemployment rate in the EU was 6.3% in April 2024, down slightly from 6.4% in March, while the male unemployment rate remained the same as in March at 5.7% in April.
In the euro area, the unemployment rate for women was 6.7%, down from 6.9% in March, while the rate for men was 6.1%, remaining the same as in March.
“The recent fall in unemployment in the euro area to its lowest level on record is mainly due to significantly improved conditions in Greece and especially in populous Spain,” the Czech National Bank said in the report.
“Ten years ago, unemployment rates in both countries were over 25%. But since then, unemployment rates in both countries have steadily and significantly decreased (except for a small interruption early on during the COVID pandemic).”
Does falling unemployment indicate a brighter outlook for Europe?
The improvement in unemployment could be good news for a Europe struggling with rising inflation and interest rates, as well as economic and geopolitical uncertainty due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and resulting increases in energy prices.
Euro zone economic sentiment rose to 96 points in May, the highest in four months, according to the European Commission, slightly up from 95.6 in April but below the 96.2 expected by analysts.
Service provider confidence rose to 6.5 in May from 6.1 in April, boosted by expectations for future demand. Industrial sector confidence also edged up slightly to -9.9 in May from -10.4 in the previous month. Consumer confidence also became less pessimistic, declining to -14.3 in May from -14.7 in the previous month.
Retailer economic sentiment was stable at -6.8, while construction trader economic sentiment fell from -5.6 to -6.
