The Euro Area seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 9.6 per cent in January 2017, the same rate as in December 2016, and down from 10.4 per cent last January. The broader European Union had unemployment of 8.1 per cent, down from 8.2 per cent in December 2016 and down from 8.9 per cent last January.

Before and during the recession of 2008-2009, European unemployment rates were similar to those reported in Nova Scotia.  However, during Europe's sovereign debt crisis of 2011-2012 unemployment rates escalated among many member states.  Since 2013, unemployment rates have been slowly coming down across Europe.  The broader EU unemployment rate is once again similar to levels reported for Nova Scotia, but within the Euro Area, unemployment rates remain elevated.

Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates in January 2017 were recorded in the Czech Republic (3.4%) and Germany (3.8%). The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (23.0% in November2016) and Spain (18.2%).

Note: An unemployment person is defined by Eurostat according to the guidelines of the International Labour Organization as individual aged 15 to 74 (in Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway: 16 to 74 years), who is without work, is available to start work within the next two weeks and has actively sought employment at some time during the previous four weeks.  Canadian results from the Labour Force Survey shown above use slightly different age cohorts.

Source:  Eurostat: Unemployment