Spain has highest unemployment in the European Union

Spain has the highest unemployment rate across the European Union and unemployment continued to rise during July 2012 to bring the total number of unemployed to 25.1% or the workforce, 2% higher than the previous month. The highest level of unemployment in the EU is in Spain (25.1% unemployed) followed by Greece (23.1%). In contrast, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.5%), Netherlands (5.3%) and in Germany and Luxembourg (5.5% each). The highest increases were registered in Greece (16.8% in May 2011 to 23.1% in May 2012), Spain (21.7% to 25.1%) and Cyprus (7.7 % to 10.9%). The largest decreases were observed in Estonia (13.2% to 10.1% between the second quarter of 2011 and the same period in 2012), Lithuania (15.2% to 13.0%), and Latvia (from 17.0% to 15.9% between the second quarters of 2011 and 2012).