In December 2020, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the EU and euro area remained stable compared with November, while Croatia's unemployment rate was equal to the EU average, the EU statistical office, Eurostat, reported on Monday.

In December, the unemployment rate stood at 7.5% in the EU-27 and at 8.3% in the euro area, the same as in November. By comparison, in December 2019 unemployment was 6.5% in the EU-27 and 7.4% in the euro area.

Eurostat estimates that 16 million men and women in the EU, of whom 13.671 million in the euro area, were unemployed in December 2020. Compared with November 2020, the number of persons unemployed increased by 67,000 in the EU and by 55,000 in the euro area.

The highest unemployment rates were registered in Spain (16.2%) and Lithuania (10.1%), while the lowest rates were recorded in the Czech Republic (3.1%), Poland (3.3%) and the Netherlands (3.9%).

Croatia registered an unemployment rate of 7.5% in December, the same as in November, staying at the level of the EU average. According to Eurostat, 135,000 people in Croatia were out of work in December 2020 compared with December 2019 when there were 114,000 jobless people registered.

Youth unemployment 

In December 2020, the youth unemployment rate was 17.8% in the EU and 18.5% in the euro area, up from 17.5% and 18.1% respectively in the previous month.

In December 2020, 3.138 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of whom 2.590 million were in the euro area.

Compared with November 2020, youth unemployment increased by 41,000 in the EU and by 36,000 in the euro area. Compared with December 2019, youth unemployment increased by 438,000 in the EU and by 353,000 in the euro area.

In Croatia, which records youth unemployment on a quarterly basis, youth unemployment decreased to 21.6% in Q4 from 24.8% in Q3. In the period from October to December 2020, there were 31,000 jobless people in Croatia aged under 25, 6,000 fewer than in the preceding quarter. In December 2019, there were 23,000 jobless youth in Croatia, according to Eurostat.