The euro area unemployment rate remained on its maximum again in June 2012. Average percentage of unemployed in 17 countries with common currency was 11.2%. Compared to the numbers from 2011, unemployment grew by 1.2 percentage points. In the EU27 unemployment rate was 10.4% in June 2012, compared to 9.5% in 2011.

As usual, the lowest unemployment rates were observed in Austria (4.5%), the Netherlands (5.1%), Germany and Luxembourg (both 5.4%), and the highest in Spain (24.8%) and Greece (22.5% in April 2012). Youth unemployment remains a crucial problem of the EU27.  In June 2011 it was 21.2% in the euro area and 20.5% in the EU27. The lowest rates were measured in Germany (7.9%) and Austria (8.8%) and the highest in Greece (52.8% in April 2012) and Spain (52.7%).

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