Unemployment holds steady in Romania, stays among the lowest rates in the EU

Latest European unemployment figures show that the rate in Romania held steady in March. The unemployment rate locally was 6.7 percent, the same as in February, according to seasonally adjusted unemployment figures published today (April 30 ) by EU statistics office Eurostat. Unemployment in Romania was down considerably year-on-year – the rate in March 2012 was 7.3 percent. The falling trend in unemployment, which had continued for over a year, was broken in February, when unemployment rose slightly from the 6.6 percent low recorded in January this year. Romania currently has the sixth lowest unemployment level in the EU, with the lowest rate – 4.7 percent – in Austria. Eurozone unemployment climbed again in March to reach 12.1 percent, up by 0.1 percent on the figure for the previous two months and up 1.1 percent from the 11 percent rate in March 2012. Unemployment across the EU 27 Member States held steady at 10.9 percent, unchanged over the first three months of 2013. Year-on-year, average EU unemployment had risen by 0.6 percent from the 10.3 percent rate recorded in March 2012. Spain and Greece continue to suffer from the highest levels of unemployment. The most recent figures for Greece, from January this year, put unemployment at 27.2 percent, the highest level in the EU. Meanwhile, unemployment rose in Spain again in March, up 0.2 percent on the previous month to reach 26.7 percent. editor@romania-insider.com