Eurozone unemployment drops to 11.1% in April: Eurostat

[BRUSSELS] Unemployment in the eurozone dropped to a three-year low of 11.1 per cent in April, official data showed on Wednesday, in a sign that the fragile jobs market in Europe could be on the mend.

Joblessness in the 19-nation currency bloc fell from a revised 11.2 per cent in March, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said, but with youth unemployment at a still high 22.3 per cent.

The overall level was the lowest since April 2012.

As usual, the level of joblessness varied widely across the eurozone.

Unemployment in powerhouse Germany was unchanged at 4.7 per cent, the lowest rate in the currency bloc.

The highest rate was in debt-stricken Greece, at 25.4 per cent in February, the latest data available, down slightly from 25.7 per cent a month earlier.

Youth unemployment in Greece stood at 50.1 per cent and a still huge but slightly lower 49.6 per cent in Spain.

In welcome news, Italy, the eurozone's third biggest economy, saw joblessness fall to 12.4 per cent from a revised 12.6 per cent in March.

Youth unemployment in Italy however still stood at a high 40.9 per cent.

EU-wide, unemployment in the 28 member states fell by 0.1 per cent to 9.7 per cent in April.

AFP