The unemployment rate in the European Union and the euro area remained stable in January 2021 compared with the previous month, while in Croatia it slid below the EU average, a Eurostat report showed on Thursday.

The EU unemployment rate was 7.3% in January 2021, stable compared with December 2020 and up from 6.6% in January 2020. The euro area rate was 8.1%, also stable compared with December 2020 and up from 7.4% in January 2020.

A total of 15.663 million people in the EU were unemployed in January 2021, including 13.282 million in the euro area. Compared with December 2020, their number increased by 29,000 in the EU and by 8,000 in the euro area. Compared with January 2020, unemployment rose by 1.465 million in the EU and by 1.010 million in the euro area.

The highest unemployment rate was recorded in Spain, of 16%, while all other member states had unemployment rates of below 10%. The lowest rates were registered in Poland (3.1%), the Czech Republic (3.2%) and the Netherlands (3.6%).

In Croatia, the unemployment rate in January 2021 was 7.1%, down from 7.6% in December 2020. A total of 126,000 Croatians were out of work in January, or 9,000 fewer than in the previous month. In January 2020, the unemployment rate in Croatia was 6%, with 107,000 people out of work.

No data was available for Estonia, Finland, Greece, Italy and Romania.

Youth unemployment unchanged

The EU youth unemployment rate remained at 16.9% in January 2021, unchanged from December 2020. The euro area rate was 17.1%, down from 18.5% in the previous month.

In January 2021, a total of 2.929 million young people were unemployed in the EU, including 2.356 million in the euro area. Compared with December 2020, their number increased by 3,000 in the EU and decreased by 15,000 in the euro area. Compared with January 2020, their number rose by 184,000 in the EU and by 89,000 in the euro area.

The highest youth unemployment rate was recorded in Spain, of 39.9%, ahead of Portugal (24.6%) and Sweden (24.1%). The lowest rates were registered in Germany (6.2%), the Netherlands (9.1%) and Austria (9.7%).

In Croatia, which is not required to provide monthly data on youth unemployment, the youth unemployment rate in the last quarter of 2020 was 22.2%, with 31,000 young people out of work.