Unemployment figures improve in Lithuania

2014-01-31
From wire reports, VILNIUS

Unemployment in Lithuania has fallen by two percent, new figures show.

According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, the unemployment rate in Lithuania in December 2013 decreased from 13 percent to 11 percent.

The EU unemployment rate was 10.7 percent in December 2013.

Among the EU member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.9 percent), Germany (5.1 percent) and Luxembourg (6.2 percent), and the highest in Greece (27.8 percent in October 2013) and Spain (25.8 percent).

Meanwhile, 5.5 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of whom 3.5 million were in the euro area. Compared with December 2012, youth unemployment decreased by 184, 000 in the EU and by 77, 000 in the euro area.

Elsewhere, youth unemployment rate was 23.2 percent in the EU and 23.8 percent in the euro area, compared with 23.6 percent and 23.9 percent respectively in December 2012.

In December 2013, the lowest rates were observed in Germany (7.4 percent) and Austria (8.9 percent), and the highest in Greece (59.2 percent in October 2013), Spain (54.3 percent) and Croatia (49.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013).

Other statistics show:

Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate increased in fourteen member states, fell in thirteen and remained stable in Sweden. The highest increases were registered in Cyprus (13.9 percent to 17.5 percent), Greece (26.1 percent to 27.8 percent between October 2012 and October 2013), the Netherlands (5.8 percent to 7.0 percent) and Italy (11.5 percent to 12.7 percent). The largest decreases were observed in Ireland (14.0 percent to 12.1 percent), Latvia (14.0 percent to 12.1 percent between the third quarters of 2012 and 2013), Portugal (17.3 percent to 15.4 percent), Hungary (11.0 percent to 9.3 percent between November 2012 and November 2013.

In December 2013, the unemployment rate in the United States was 6.7 percent, down from 7.0 percent in November 2013 and from 7.9 percent in December 2012.