In September 2020, unemployment remained the same as in August in the European Union and the euro area, while in Croatia it decreased slightly, slipping under the euro area average, according to a report by Eurostat released on Friday.

The seasonally-adjusted EU unemployment rate was 7.5% in September 2020, almost identical to August when it was 7.4%, while in September 2019, unemployment in the EU was 6.6%.

There was no change in the unemployment rate in the euro area either and it amounted to 8.3%. In September last year, the unemployment rate in the euro area was 7.5%.

A total of 15.990 million persons were unemployed in the EU in September, of which 13.612 million were in the euro area. Compared to August, the number of persons unemployed was up by 42,000 in the EU and by 75,000 in the euro area.

Compared to September 2019, the number of jobless increased by 1.811 million in the EU and by 1.376 million in the euro area.

Croatia close to euro area average

The highest unemployment rate in September was again registered in Spain (16.5%), followed by Lithuania (9.8%), Italy (9.6%), and Sweden (9.2%).

The lowest was registered in the Czech Republic (2.8%) and Poland (3.1%).

The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in Croatia was 8.2% in September 2020, down 0.1 pp compared to August. In September 2019, unemployment in Croatia was 6.4%.

In September 2020, there were 149,000 jobless persons in Croatia, which is 3,000 fewer than in August, but 34,000 more than in September last year.

Youth unemployment down

In September 2020, 2.995 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of whom 2.451 million were in the euro area. In September 2020, the youth unemployment rate was 17.1% in the EU and 17.6% in the euro area, down from 17.8% and 18.3% respectively in the previous month. Compared with August 2020, youth unemployment decreased by 97,000 in the EU and by 77,000 in the euro area.

This decrease should be interpreted with caution: it might be explained by some young persons not actively seeking employment until the situation improves in the labour market. Compared with September 2019, youth unemployment increased by 259,000 in the EU and by 202,000 in the euro area, Eurostat reported on its web site.

Croatia does not provide monthly data on youth unemployment. However, in the third quarter of 2020 youth unemployment was 23.6%, 0.9 percentage points lower or 36,000 fewer young jobless than in Q2.