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March 03, 2020EU AND EURO AREA UNEMPLOYMENT RATE, JANUARY 2020 
Eurostat has reported that the unemployment rate in the Euro Area was stable at 7.4 per cent in January, unchanged in the last four months and down from 7.8 per cent in January 2019. For the Euro Area, this remains the lowest unemployment rate since May 2008.
For the broader European Union, the unemployment rate was stable at 6.2 per cent in January 2020, also unchanged in the last four months and down from 6.5 per cent in January 2019. This unemployment rate for the European Union remains at its lowest level since the monthly data series began in 2000.
After the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, data from February 2020 onward will report 27 countries in the EU. In January 2020, the unemployment rate for the 27 remaining EU members was 6.6 per cent (unchanged since October 2019), down from 6.9 per cent in January 2019.
Among major European economies, the unemployment rate was highest in Greece (16.5 per cent in Nov), Spain (13.7 per cent), Italy (9.8 per cent) and France (8.2 per cent). Unemployment rates were lowest in Czechia (2.0 per cent), Poland (2.9 per cent), the Netherlands (3.0 per cent) and Germany (3.2 per cent).
Source: Eurostat. Unemployment News Release, time series data for unemployment rates, latest unemployment rates by member country
Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0287-01 Labour force characteristics, monthly, seasonally adjusted and trend-cycle
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