The Eurozone (EA16) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 10.0% in February 2010, compared with 9.9% in January. It was 8.8% in February 2009. The EU27 unemployment rate was 9.6% in February 2010, compared with 9.5% in January. It was 8.3% in February 2009. For the Eurozone this is the highest rate since August 1998 and for the EU27 since the start of the series in January 2000. The Netherlands was lowest at 4%; Ireland was at 13.2% and Spain was at 19%.

Eurostat estimates that 23.0 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 15.7 million were in the Eurozone, were unemployed in February 2010. Compared with January 2010, the number of persons unemployed increased by 131, 000 in the EU27 and by 61,000 in the Eurozone. Compared with February 2009, unemployment went up by 3.1 million in the EU27 and by 1.8 million in the Eurozone, according to Eurostat, the statistics office of the European Union.

Among the member countries, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Netherlands (4.0%) and Austria (5.0%), and the highest rates in Latvia (21.7%) and Spain (19.0%). Compared with a year ago, all member countries recorded an increase in their unemployment rate. The smallest increases were observed in Luxembourg (5.4% to 5.5%), Germany (7.3% to 7.5%), and Belgium (7.7% to 8.0%).

The highest increases were registered in Latvia (13.2% to 21.7%), Estonia (7.6% to 15.5% between the fourth quarters of 2008 and 2009) and Lithuania (8.1% to 15.8% between the fourth quarters of 2008 and 2009).

Between February 2009 and February 2010, the unemployment rate for males rose from 8.5% to 10.0% in the Eurozone and from 8.2% to 9.8% in the EU27. The female unemployment rate increased from 9.2% to 10.0% in the Eurozone and from 8.4% to 9.3% in the EU27.

In February 2010, the youth unemployment rate (under-25s) was 20.0% in the Eurozone and 20.6% in the EU27. In February 2009 it was 18.4% in both zones. The lowest rate was observed in the Netherlands (7.3%), and the highest rates in Latvia (41.3% in the fourth quarter of 2009) and Spain (40.7%). The rate was 28.6% in Ireland.

In the US, the unemployment rate was 9.7% in February 2010. In Japan it was 4.9% in January 2010.

The Eurozone (EA16) consists of Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

The EU27 includes Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), the Czech Republic (CZ), Denmark (DK), Germany (DE), Estonia (EE), Ireland (IE), Greece (EL), Spain (ES), France (FR), Italy (IT), Cyprus (CY), Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Hungary (HU), Malta (MT), the Netherlands (NL), Austria (AT), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Romania (RO), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK), Finland (FI), Sweden (SE) and the United Kingdom (UK).