Unemployment rates in the EU remained stable in February

The euro area unemployment rate remained at 8.3 percent in January, seasonally adjusted in February 2021. Similarly, the unemployment rate across the European Union (EU) was stable at 7.5 percent in February. Preliminary data from the European statistical office Eurostat showed this on Tuesday. February data disappointed economists, who expected unemployment in the eurozone to fall to 8.1 percent. A year ago, in February 2020, the unemployment rate reached 7.3 percent in the euro area and 6.5 percent in the EU. Eurostat estimates that in February 2021, 15.953 million men and women were out of work across the EU, of which 13.571 million were in the euro area. Compared to January 2021, the number of unemployed increased by 34,000 in the EU and by 48,000 in the euro area. And compared to February 2020, there were 1.922 million unemployed across the Union, up 1.507 million in the euro area. In February 2021, 2.967 million young people under the age of 25 were unemployed in the EU, of which 2.394 million were in the euro area. In February 2021, the youth unemployment rate was 17.2 percent across the Union and 17.3 percent in the euro area. That was less than 17.4 percent in both regions in the previous month. Compared to January 2021, the number of young people out of work decreased by 34,000 in the EU and by 9,000 in the euro area. However, compared to February 2020, the number of unemployed young people increased by 230,000 in the EU and 177,000 in the euro area. Eurostat also said that in February 2021, the female unemployment rate in the EU remained stable at 7.9 percent in January. The male unemployment rate also stagnated at 7.1 percent. In the euro area, the female unemployment rate rose to 8.8 percent in February 2021 from 8.7 percent in January, while the male unemployment rate was stable at 7.9 percent. Among the largest euro area economies, Spain (16.1%), Italy (10.2%) and France (8%) had the highest harmonized unemployment rates in February, while the Netherlands (3.6%) and Germany (4.5%) reported the lowest unemployment rates to Eurostat.