In Latvia, the unemployment rate was 9.8% in May this year, which was higher than the European Union (EU) average, according to the data of the EU statistical office “Eurostat” published on Wednesday, which is compiled for 24 bloc member states.
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According to Eurostat, only Spain (14.5%) and Cyprus (10.2%) had higher unemployment rates among EU Member States in May. Latvia is followed by Lithuania – 9.3%, Croatia – 8.9%, France – 8.1%, Sweden – 8%, Italy – 7.8% and Luxembourg – 7.7%. The lowest unemployment rate in May was registered in the Czech Republic – 2.4%, Poland – 3%, the Netherlands – 3.6% and Germany – 3.9%.
According to seasonally adjusted data, the EU average unemployment rate rose to 6.7% in May from 6.6% in April. On average in the euro area, unemployment rose to 7.4% in May, from 7.3% a month earlier.
Eurostat estimates that there were 14.366 million unemployed in the bloc in May, of whom 12,146 million were unemployed in the eurozone. Compared to April, the number of unemployed has increased by 253,000 in the EU and by 159,000 in the euro area.
The rise in unemployment in May is explained by measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Unemployment data for April are not available for Estonia, Greece and Hungary.
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