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EU unemployment at lowest level since record keeping began

The Spanish unemployment rate is one of the highest in Europe. Photo: Jasper Juinen/Getty Images
The Spanish unemployment rate is one of the highest in Europe. Photo: Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

Unemployment is at record-setting lows in the European Union right now.

Official data from Eurostat showed unemployment across the 28-member bloc remained at 6.5% in February, the lowest level since record keeping began nearly 20 years ago.

The percentage of unemployed people across the EU has been falling steadily since peaking at 11% in 2013. The latest February unemployment rate was steady compared to the previous month.

While employment prospects have been improving, there are still 16 million people out of work across the bloc. For comparison purposes, that’s close to the entire population of the Netherlands, which is home to 17 million people.

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Eurozone figures were less rosy, with the unemployment rate at 7.8% in February, which was stable compared to January. This is the lowest rate of unemployment in the eurozone since 2008.

Across the 19 countries that use the euro currency, Greece had the highest unemployment rate at 18% and Spain followed with a rate of 13.9%.

Czechia, Germany, and the Netherlands have the lowest unemployment rates. They are all below 3.5%.

In the UK, unemployment is at its lowest level in 44 years at 3.9%, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

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