Euro zone unemployment record low in 8 years

The 19-member euro zone seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate stands at 9.3 percent in May, the lowest rate recorded in the area in eight years, statistical office of the European Union (EU) Eurostat said Monday.

Declining by 0.9 percent year-on-year, the unemployment rate remains stable compared to April 2017, said Eurostat.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in the 28-member union also witnessed a 9-year low of 7.8 percent since 2008, marking a 0.9 percent decrease year-on-year.

Around 19.115 million men and women in the EU, of whom 15.034 million are in the euro area, were unemployed in May, marking respectively a 22,000 and 5,000 decrease of the unemployed people in the EU and the euro area compared with April 2017.

On a year-on-year basis, the number of unemployed fell by 2.122 million in the union and by 1.428 million in the euro area, said Eurostat.

Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rate in May was recorded in the Czech Republic with 3 percent, followed by Germany (3.9 percent) and Malta (4.1 percent). The highest unemployment rate was observed in Greece with 22.5 percent in March 2017.

Compared to a year ago, the unemployment rate in May fell in all member states. The largest fall was registered in Croatia, decreasing from 13.4 percent to 10.7 percent.

The EU is currently bracing for the Brexit talks, which many observers fear would cause uncertainty in its economy recovery.