UNEMPLOYMENT : EU JOBLESS RATE STABLE IN DECEMBER.

• Position: Brief article

The eurozone seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 10% in December 2010, unchanged compared with November (it was 9.9% in December 2009). The EU27 unemployment rate was 9.6% in December 2010, unchanged compared with November (it was 9.5% in December 2009), indicated Eurostat, on 1 February.

According to estimates, 23.179 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 15.775 million were in the eurozone, were unemployed in December 2010. Compared with November, the number of persons unemployed fell by 19,000 in the EU27 and by 73,000 in the eurozone.

The largest falls were observed in Malta (7.3% to 6.2%), Sweden (8.9% to 7.8%), Germany (7.4% to 6.6%) and Finland (8.8% to 8.1%). The highest increases were registered in Lithuania (14.3% to 18.3% between the...