In Cyprus, the unemployment rate dropped to 6.0% in January 2020, from 6.3% in December 2019 and 7.6% in January 2019, or down to 27,000 individuals (5.4% for males and 5.6% for females). In Greece unemployment was 16.5% in November 2019 (latest available data).

Meanwhile the EU27 unemployment rate was 6.6% in January 2020, stable compared with December 2019 and down from 6.9% in January 2019. This is the lowest rate recorded in the EU27 since the start of the EU monthly unemployment series in January 2000.

Eurostat estimates that 14.086 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 12.179 million in the euro area, were unemployed in January 2020. Compared with December 2019, the number of persons unemployed increased by 16,000 in the EU27 and by 1,000 in the euro area. Compared with January 2019, unemployment fell by 746 000 in the EU27 and by 593,000 in the euro area.

Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates in January 2020 were recorded in Czechia (2.0%), Poland (2.9%) and the Netherlands (3.0%).

The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (16.5% in November 2019) and Spain (13.7%). Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in 19 Member States, remained stable in Germany and Romania, while it increased in Estonia (from 4.3% to 4.5% between December 2018 and December 2019), Slovenia (from 4.5% to 4.7%), Portugal (from 6.6% to 6.9%), Lithuania (from 6.1% to 6.6%), Luxembourg (from 5.2% to 5.7%) and Sweden (from 6.5% to 7.0%).

The largest decreases were registered in Greece (from 18.6% to 16.5% between November 2018 and November 2019), Cyprus (from 7.6% to 6.0%) and Croatia (from 7.2% to 6.1%). In January 2020, the unemployment rate in the United States was 3.6%, up from 3.5% in December 2019 and down from 4.0% in January 2019.

In January 2020, 2.719 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU27, of whom 2.249 million were in the euro area. Compared with January 2019, youth unemployment decreased by 110 000 in the EU27 and by 75 000 in the euro area. In January 2020, the youth unemployment rate was 14.9% in the EU27 and 15.6% in the euro area, compared with 15.5% and 16.1% respectively in January 2019. In January 2020, the lowest rates were observed in Czechia (5.3%), Germany (5.6%) and the Netherlands (6.4%), while the highest were recorded in Greece (36.1% in November 2019), Spain (30.6%) and Italy (29.3%).

Youth unemployment in Cyprus was 14.8% in December 2019 (latest available data)

Source: In-Cyprus