EU UNEMPLOYMENT RATE STAYS PUT AT 7.6%.

The unemployment rate in the European Union remained at 7.6% in May this year, unchanged compared to April, according to figures released by the EU's Statistical Office Eurostat on July 3. The rate was 8.3% in May 2000. Euro-zone seasonally-adjusted unemployment was unchanged at 8.3% in May 2001 compared with April. The lowest rates were registered in the Netherlands (2.3% in April), Luxembourg (2.4%), Austria (3.7%), Ireland (3.8%) and Portugal (3.9%). Spain's 12.9% remained the EU's highest rate.Over the last twelve months, the biggest relative falls were recorded in the Netherlands (from 3.1% in April 2000 to 2.3% in April 2001), Sweden (from 6% to 5%), Ireland (from 4.3% to 3.8%) and France (from 9.6% to 8.5%). In May 2001, the...