Eurostat estimates that 17.481 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 13.824 million in the euro area, were unemployed in March 2018. Compared with February 2018, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 94 000 in the EU28 and by 83 000 in the euro area. Compared with March 2017, unemployment fell by 1.930 million in the EU28 and by 1.414 million in the euro area.

Member States

Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates in March 2018 were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.2%), Malta (3.3%) and Germany (3.4%). The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (20.6% in January 2018) and Spain (16.1%). Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in all Member States except Lithuania where it remained stable and Estonia where it increased (from 5.3% to 6.5% between February 2017 and February 2018). The largest decreases were registered in Cyprus (from 12.3% to 9.1%), Greece (from 23.2% to 20.6% between January 2017 and January 2018), Croatia (from 11.8% to 9.4%) and Portugal (from 9.7% to 7.4%). In March 2018, the unemployment rate in the United States was 4.1%, stable compared to February 2018 and down from 4.5% in March 2017.

Youth unemployment

In March 2018, 3.500 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU28, of whom 2.449 million were in the euro area. Compared with March 2017, youth unemployment decreased by 409 000 in the EU28 and by 305 000 in the euro area. In March 2018, the youth unemployment rate was 15.6% in the EU28 and 17.3% in the euro area, compared with 17.3% and 19.4% respectively in March 2017. In March 2018, the lowest rates were observed in Germany (6.1%), the Czech Republic (6.8%) and the Netherlands (7.0%), while the highest were recorded in Greece (42.3% in January 2018), Spain (35.0%) and Italy (31.7%).