UNEMPLOYMENT : JOBLESS RATE STABILISES IN EU.

• Position: European Union - Brief article

The eurozone seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 10.4% in December 2011 - unchanged compared with November, and slightly higher than the 10% rate in December 2010. The EU27 unemployment rate was 9.9% in December 2011 - also unchanged compared with November and slightly higher than the 9.5% rate in December 2010.

According to Eurostat estimates, released on 31 January, 23,816 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 16.469 million were in the eurozone, were unemployed in December 2011. Compared with November 2011, the number of persons unemployed increased by 24,000 in the EU27 and by 20,000 in the eurozone.

Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and the highest in Spain, Greece and Lithuania.

Between December 2010 and December 2011, the unemployment rate for males increased from 9.7% to 10.2% in the eurozone and from 9.5% to 9.8%...