The EU28 seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 6.3% in October 2019 down from 6.7% in October 2018 and stable compared with the previous month, according to data from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

At the same time the euro area’s unemployment rate was 7.5% in October 2019, down from 7.6% in September 2019 and from 8.0% in October 2018.

Eurostat estimated that 15.58 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 12.33 million in the euro area, were unemployed in October 2019. Compared with October 2018, unemployment fell by 939,000 in the EU28 and by 761,000 in the euro area. Compared with September 2019, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 29,000 in the EU28 and by 31,000 in the euro area. Compared with October 2018, unemployment fell by 939 000 in the EU28 and by 761 000 in the euro area.

Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates in October 2019 were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.2%), Germany (3.1%) and Poland (3.2%).

The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (16.7% in August 2019) and Spain (14.2%).

Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in 24 Member States, while it increased in the Czech Republic (from 2.1% to 2.2%), Lithuania (from 6.1% to 6.4%), Denmark (from 4.9% to 5.3%) and Sweden (from 6.4% to 6.8%).

In October 2019, the youth unemployment rate stood at 14.4% in the EU28 and 15.6% in the euro area, compared with 15.1% and 16.7%, respectively in October 2018.