Unemployment in the Eurozone and EU Stable at the Beginning of the Year; Slight Decrease in Croatia

The unemployment rate in the Eurozone and EU remained stable in January, while in Croatia it slightly decreased, slipping below the average in the area of the common European currency, a report from Eurostat showed on Thursday.

 

In the 20-member Eurozone, which includes Croatia as of January 1, the unemployment rate measured by the International Labour Organization (ILO) methodology was 6.7 percent in January, remaining at the level from December, according to revised data from the European statistical office. This means it has been unchanged for the third consecutive month.

 

There was no change in the EU either, where the rate remained at 6.1 percent, the same as throughout the fourth quarter, according to the latest Eurostat table, which only lacks data for Greece. For comparison, in January 2022, it reached 6.9 percent in the Eurozone and 6.3 percent in the EU.

 

Eurostat estimates that in the EU in the first month of this year, there were 13.227 million unemployed, of which 11.288 million in the Eurozone. Compared to the same month last year, this shows a decrease in the number of unemployed in the EU by 318 thousand and in the Eurozone by 220 thousand.

Spain still has a double-digit unemployment rate, which was 13 percent in January. In Croatia, the unemployment rate measured by the ILO methodology in January was 6.5 percent, slipping from the revised 6.7 percent in December. Eurostat raised the estimate for December by 0.3 percentage points, the report notes.

 

According to Eurostat data, 119 thousand citizens were unemployed in Croatia in January, three thousand less than in the previous month, according to revised data. Compared to the same month last year, their number decreased by a thousand, the latest tables show. Lithuania was closest to Croatia in January, with an unemployment rate of 6.4 percent.

 

The Czech Republic had by far the lowest unemployment rate in January, at 2.5 percent, followed by Germany and Malta at three percent. Neighboring Slovenia is close behind, with a rate of 3.2 percent.

The unemployment rate for citizens aged up to 25 years in January was 14.4 percent in both the Eurozone and the EU. In the Eurozone, it increased by 0.1 percentage points on a monthly basis, while in the EU it decreased by the same amount. In January last year, it was also 14.4 percent in the Eurozone and 14.5 percent in the EU, according to Eurostat tables.

 

The statistical office estimates that in the EU in January, 2.781 million young people were unemployed, of which 2.286 million in the Eurozone. The number of unemployed young people in the Eurozone at the beginning of this year was thus 112 thousand higher than in the same period in 2022, and in the EU by 116 thousand, Eurostat reported.

 

The highest unemployment rate among young people in January was in Spain, at 29.6 percent. This was followed by Italy at 22.9 percent, Sweden at 21.2 percent, Slovakia at 20.8 percent, and Portugal at 20.5 percent.

 

Among the EU countries for which Eurostat had data, Germany recorded the lowest youth unemployment rate in January, at 5.7 percent. The Czech Republic follows with 7.1 percent.

 

Croatia, Belgium, Cyprus, Romania, and Slovenia are not required to submit monthly unemployment data but provide it on a quarterly basis.

 

In the fourth quarter of last year, Croatia recorded an unemployment rate in that age group of 18 percent, with 27 thousand young people unemployed, according to the latest Eurostat table.

 

A report published a month ago showed an unemployment rate of 17.3 percent, with 25 thousand unemployed young people in Croatia.