Unemployment stable in May

Unemployment in May remained stable in Malta according to figures published by Eurostat yesterday.

In May, the unemployment rate stood at 5.8 per cent, a fraction higher than the previous month's 5.7 per cent. Compared to 12 months earlier, unemployment in May fell by almost one percentage point (6.5 per cent in May last year).

Eurostat reported that unemployment in the euro area also remained stable when compared to the previous month, at an average of 7.2 per cent.

The lowest unemployment rates were registered in Denmark (2.7 per cent) and The Netherlands (2.9 per cent) and the highest in Slovakia (10.5 per cent) and Spain (9.9 per cent).

Over the last year, 21 EU member states recorded a fall in their unemployment rate and six an increase.

The largest falls were observed in Poland (down from 9.8 to 7.5 per cent) and Bulgaria (from 7.1 to 5.7 per cent) and the highest increases were in Spain (8.1 to 9.9 per cent) and Ireland (4.8 to 6 per cent).

Eurostat estimates that 16.1 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 11.1 million are in the euro area, were unemployed in May.