Malta’s unemployment level in April was the lowest recorded for the island in 12 months and the fifth lowest among the 27 EU member states.

The rate stood at 6.2 per cent, down 0.1 per cent over the previous month and a full one percentage point down on April 2010, according to latest figures issued by the EU’s statistics arm Eurostat. The only EU member states which had lower rates than Malta were the Netherlands, Austria, Luxembourg and Germany.

The number of those seeking a job fell most among the young (under 25 year olds) from 13.6 per cent in April 2010 to 10.8 per cent last April. However, a fall in unemployment was registered across the board with figures of 6.4 per cent for females, down 1.5 per cent over April 2010, and 6.2 per cent for males, a reduction of 0.7 per cent.

Unemployment is showing a slight decline all over the EU, with the average for the euro area down to 9.9 per cent from 10.2 per cent a year earlier. The unemployment rate fell in 17 EU member states, increased in nine and remained stable in Luxembourg.

Meanwhile, according to the latest flash estimates by Eurostat, the average inflation rate in the euro area in May is expected to be 2.7 per cent or 0.1 per cent lower than April. Malta’s inflation rate in April stood at 2.4 per cent.