Unemployment in Malta was the third lowest in the EU in October, according to Eurostat.

The figures showed that, at 5.1 per cent, the jobless rate in Malta remained static for the fourth month running.

Malta placed behind Germany and the Czech Republic, where unemployment stood at 4.5 per cent and 4.7 per cent respectively.

Malta placed behind Germany, Czech Republic

Unemployment in Malta among those under 25 amounted to 13.1 per cent, the sixth lowest in the EU.

The highest unemployment rate was in Spain (21.6 per cent). The October figures for Greece were not available but unemployment there stood at 24.6 per cent in August.

Unemployment in the euro area hit 10.7 per cent, a marginal drop from the previous month. It was, however, the lowest recorded rate in the eurozone since January 2012.

Unemployment across all the 28 EU member states stood at 9.3 per cent, the lowest since September 2009.

Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate in October fell in 24 member states and increased in four. The largest drops were registered in Spain, Slovakia, Ireland and Croatia. Increases were reported by Finland, France, Belgium and Romania.