Unemployment rate drops to 11.6% in April 2017

The unemployment rate in Cyprus fell in April 2017 to 11.6%, remaining the third-highest in both the euro area and the European Union, the EU’s statistical office Eurostat said.

The number of unemployed dropped in April to 50,000 from 53,000 in March and 54,000 in April 2016, Eurostat said in a statement on its website on Wednesday. Cyprus’ unemployment rate was 12.3% in March and 12.9% in April 2016.

The youth unemployment rate was 29.6% in March, which is the latest available figure for Cyprus, compared with 28.5% in April 2016, Eurostat said. The jobless rate among men was 10.5% in April and 12.7% among women.

The average unemployment rate in April in the EU and euro area fell to 9.3% and 7.8% from 9.4% and 7.9% respectively, Eurostat said.

The highest unemployment rate was Greece’s 23.2% in February, the latest available figure, followed by Spain 17.8%, Eurostat said. The lowest rates in the euro area was Germany’s 3.9%, followed by Malta’s 4.1% and the Netherlands’ 5.1% rate. The Czech Republic had the lowest jobless rate in the EU with 3.2%.

Source: Cyprus Mail