The euro area (EA16) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 8.5% in February 2009, compared with 8.3% in January. It was 7.2% in February 2008. The EU27 unemployment rate was 7.9% in February 2009, compared with 7.7% in January. It was 6.8% in February 2008.

Eurostat estimates that 19,156 million men and women in the EU27, of which 13,486 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in February 2009. Compared with January, the number of persons unemployed increased by 478, 000 in the EU27 and by 319,000 in the euro area. Compared with February 2008, unemployment went up by 3.019 million in the EU27 and by 2.125 million in the euro area.

Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rate was recorded in the Netherlands (2.7%), and the highest rates in Spain (15.5%), Latvia (14.4%) and Lithuania (13.7%), Malta stood at 6.4%.

Compared with a year ago, seven Member States recorded a fall in their unemployment rate, nineteen an increase and the rate remained stable in one. The largest falls were observed in Bulgaria (6.2% to 5.5%) and Slovakia (10.2% to 9.8%), and the highest increases in Lithuania (4.4% to 13.7%), Latvia (6.1% to 14.4%) and Spain (9.3% to 15.5%), Malta increased from 5.9% to 6.4%.

The unemployment rate for males rose from 6.5% to 8.1% between February 2008 and February 2009 in the euro area and from 6.2% to 7.8% in the EU27. The female unemployment rate increased from 8.2% to 8.9% in the euro area and from 7.4% to 8.0% in the EU27.

In February 2009, the youth unemployment rate (under-25s) was 17.3% in the euro area and 17.5% in the EU27. In February 2008 it was 14.5% and 14.7% respectively. The lowest rates were observed in the Netherlands (5.5%) and Denmark (9.4%), and the highest in Spain (31.8%) and Sweden (24.1%), Malta stood at 12.8%.

In February 2009, the unemployment rate was 8.1% in the USA and 4.4% in Japan.

These figures are published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.

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