The euro area (EA19) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 9.5% in March 2017 down from 10.2% in March 2016. This is the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since April 2009, according to figures published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Eurostat figures also showed that the EU28 unemployment rate was 8.0% in March 2017, down from 8.7% in March 2016. This remains the lowest rate recorded in the EU28 since January 2009. When compared to last month, the Euro area unemployment rate was stable in February and the EU 28 stood at 8.1%.

Eurostat estimates that 19.716 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 15.515 million are in the euro area, were unemployed in March 2017. Compared with March 2016, unemployment fell by 1.647 million in the EU28 and by 991 000 in the euro area. Compared with February 2017, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 56, 000 in the EU28 and by 5, 000 in the euro area.

Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates in March 2017 were recorded in the Czech Republic (3.2%), Germany (3.9%) and Malta (4.1%). The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (23.5% in January 2017) and Spain (18.2%).

Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate in March 2017 fell in twenty-three member states, remained stable in France and Austria, while it increased in Denmark (from 6.0% to 6.2%), Italy (from 11.5% to 11.7%) and Lithuania (from 8.0% to 8.1%).

Meanwhile, the youth unemployment rate (under 25) for the euro area stood at 19.4%, down from 21.3% last year. In the EU 28, the unemployment rate stood at 17.2% compared to 19.1% last year.