June 3, 2009: European Union Unemployment Rate at 21 Million

According to unemployment statistics compiled by Eurostat, the European Union unemployment rate has risen to 9.2 percent, its highest since September 1999, with 3.1 million jobs lost in April 2009, an increase of 556,000 from March. In the Eurozone, 396,000 jobs were shed and almost 15 million became unemployed. The lowest unemployment figures were in the Netherlands at 3.0 percent and Austria at 4.2 percent. The highest figures were in Spain at 18.1 percent, Latvia, 17.4 percent, and Lithuania, 16.8 percent. Eurostat is the Statistical Office of the European Communities located in Luxumbourg and is charged with providing statistics for comparisons between European countries and regions. The Eurozone is comprised of the 15 EU states that have adopted the euro and created a currency union. [MercoPress, 6/3/2009; Eurostat.com, 6/3/2009; Ezine Articles, 6/3/2009]