Unemployment goes up slightly again in Romania, but still well below EU averages

Unemployment in Romania rose slightly in April, according to EU statistical office Eurostat. The seasonally adjusted figures for Romania put unemployment at 7.3 percent – 0.1 percent higher than in March this year and up by the same margin on April 2012. April's figure continues a recent rising trend in unemployment in Romania, after falling consistently to hit a post economic crisis low towards the end of 2012, the rate has climbed slowly in 2013. However, unemployment in Romania is still well below the European averages – unchanged at 11 percent for the EU 27 and up 0.1 percent to 12.2 percent for the eurozone in April this year. Romania's rate is the eighth lowest in the Union, behind Austria, Germany, Denmark and The Netherlands, as well as some of the small EU states, Luxembourg and Malta. The only regional country with lower unemployment was the Czech Republic, where the rate remained steady at 7.2 percent in April. Eurostat gives the total number of unemployed in Romania as 712,000, some 7,000 more people than in March this year. April figures for youth unemployment were not available for Romania; the most recent estimate was for January 2013, some 22.2 percent – slightly better than the European averages. Meanwhile, more men were unemployed than women in Romania and the gap widened during April. Unemployment among men was 7.8 percent, up 0.2 percent on March, while for women the figure was 6.7 percent in April, up 0.1 percent on the previous month. editor@romania-insider.com