Irish unemployment lowest in EU
Ireland’s unemployment rate is the lowest in the European Union, figures revealed today.
A report from European statistics office Eurostat for June 2005 showed Ireland had an unemployment rate of 4.3%, half the EU-wide figure, which stood at 8.8%.
Ireland’s rate of unemployment was lower than the UK’s (4.7%), Denmark and the Netherlands (both at 4.8%), and significantly lower than the euro-zone level, which was recorded at 8.7% for the month.
The Irish level of unemployment for the under-25s was also one of the lowest in the European Union, standing at 8%, compared to 7% for Denmark and 8.4% for the Netherlands.
In addition, Ireland had a lower rate of unemployment than the US, where the jobless figure was 5% for June 2005.
Across Europe, both euro-zone and EU25 unemployment rates remained unchanged in June compared to May, and were both 0.2% lower than June 2004, the statistics showed.
Poland had the highest rate of unemployment, at 17.6%, followed by Slovakia at 15.4%.
Germany, France, Spain and Greece were among those countries with jobless figures above the euro-zone rate.
Eurostat said 15 of the member states recorded a drop in their unemployment over a year, while three remained stable and seven reported an increase.
The statistical office estimates there are 12.7 million people unemployed in the euro-zone and 19 million in the EU25.
