The euro area (EA19) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate stood at 9.3% in April 2017, down from 10.2% in April 2016. This is the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since March 2009, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Meanwhile, the EU28 unemployment rate was 7.8% in April 2017, down from 8.7% in April 2016. This is the lowest rate recorded in the EU28 since December 2008.

On a month-to-month basis, the EA 19 unemployment rate fell 0.1% in April while the EU28 unemployment rate also fell by 0.1% in the same period. 

Eurostat estimates that 19.1 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 15.0 million in the euro area, were unemployed in April 2017. Compared with April 2016, unemployment fell by 2.2 million in the EU28 and by 1.5 million in the euro area. Compared with March 2017, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 253,000 in the EU28 and by 233,000 in the EA. 

Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates in April 2017 were recorded in the Czech Republic (3.2%), Germany (3.9%) and Malta (4.1%). The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (23.2% in February 2017) and Spain (17.8%).

In April 2017, 3.7 million youth (under 25) were unemployed in the EU28, of whom 2.6 million were in the euro area. Compared with April 2016, youth unemployment decreased by 600,000 in the EU28 and by 419,000 in the euro area. In April 2017, the youth unemployment rate was 16.7% in the EU28 and 18.7% in the euro area, compared with 19.0% and 21.4% respectively in April 2016.