Drop in unemployment registered

Unemployment in Malta dropped from 7.1 per cent to 6.3 per cent in November, compared to the same month last year.

According to Eurostat, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the euro area was 10.1 per cent in November, unchanged from October and slightly higher than November last year, when it stood at 9.9 per cent.

The unemployment rate in the EU27 was 9.6 per cent, also unchanged from October and up from 9.4 per cent in November last year.

The lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Netherlands (4.4 per cent), Luxembourg (4.8 per cent) and Austria (5.1 per cent), and the highest in Spain (20.6 per cent), Lithuania (18.3 per cent) and Latvia (18.2 per cent).

Compared to a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in six member states, including in Malta, it remained stable in three and increased in 18.

Between November 2009 and November 2010, the unemployment rate for males rose from 9.8 per cent to 9.9 per cent in the euro area and remained stable at 9.6 per cent in the EU27. The female unemployment rate increased from 9.9 per cent to 10.2 per cent in the euro area and from 9.2 per cent to 9.6 per cent in the EU27.

In November 2010, the youth unemployment rate (under-25s) was 20.7 per cent in the euro area and 21 per cent in the EU27.