Euro zone unemployment rate unchanged in November as expected
BRUSSELS, Jan 9 (Reuters) – The euro zone’s unemployment rate was unchanged at a record low in November as expected, with the absolute number of people without jobs falling slightly further, the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said on Monday.
Eurostat said the unemployment rate in the 20 countries now sharing the euro in November 2022 was 6.5% of the workforce, the same as in October and in line with forecasts by economists polled by Reuters.
In absolute terms, however, the number of people without jobs fell to 10.849 million in November from 10.851 million in October in a sign the labour market was still tightening despite economist forecasts of a technical recession from the last quarter of 2022.
Unemployed as percentage of labour force (seasonally adjusted):
| Rates (%) | |||||
| Nov 21 | Aug 22 | Sept 22 | Oct 22 | Nov 22 | |
| Euro area (EA19) | 7.1 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| Euro area (EA20) | 7.1 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| EU | 6.5 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
NOTE – Reuters poll consensus was for a euro zone unemployment rate of 6.5% in November.
