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The Eurozone (EA17) consists of Belgium, Germany, Estonia, 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).
Eurozone annual inflation is expected to be 2.0% in January
2013, down from 2.2% in December 2012, according to a flash estimate from
Eurostat, the statistics office of the European Union. Meanwhile, the
unemployment rate3 was 11.7% in December
2012, stable compared with November. The EU27
unemployment rate was 10.7%, also stable compared with November. In both zones,
rates have risen markedly compared with December 2011, when they were 10.7% and
10.0% respectively.
Looking at the main components of Eurozone inflation, energy
(3.9% compared with 5.2% in December) is expected to have the highest annual
rate in January, followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (3.2%, stable compared with
December), services (1.7% compared with 1.8% in December) and non-energy
industrial goods (0.8% compared with 1.0% in December).
Eurostat estimates that 25.93m men and women in
the EU27, of whom 18.71m were in the Eurozone, were unemployed in
December 2012. Compared with November 2012, the number of persons unemployed was
nearly stable in both the EU27 and the Eurozone. Compared with
December 2011, unemployment rose by 1.76m in the EU27 and by 1.80m in the
Eurozone.
Among the member countries, the lowest unemployment rates
were recorded in Austria
(4.3%), Germany and Luxembourg (both 5.3%) and the Netherlands
(5.8%), and the highest in Greece (26.8% in October 2012) and
Spain (26.1%). Ireland's rate
was 14.7% -- absent emigration, it would have been over 20%.
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate increased
in twenty member states and fell in seven. The largest decreases were observed
in Estonia (12.1% to 9.9%
between November 2011 and November 2012), Latvia (15.7% to 14.1% between
the third quarters of 2011 and 2012) and Lithuania (13.7% to 12.3%). The
highest increases were registered in Greece (19.7% to 26.8% between
October 2011 and October 2012), Cyprus (9.7% to 14.7%) and Spain (23.2% to 26.1%).
Between December 2011 and December 2012, the unemployment
rate for males increased from 10.5% to 11.6% in the Eurozone and from 10.0% to 10.7% in the
EU27. The female unemployment rate rose from 10.9% to 11.8% in the
Eurozone and from 10.1% to 10.7% in the EU27.
In December 2012, 5.70m young persons (under 25) were
unemployed in the EU27, of whom
3.62m were in the Eurozone. Compared with December 2011, youth
unemployment rose by 237 000 in the EU27 and by 303 000 in the
Eurozone. In December 2012, the youth unemployment rate was 23.4% in the
EU27 and 24.0% in the Eurozone, compared with 22.2% and 21.7%
respectively in December 2011. In December 2012 the lowest rates were observed
in Germany (8.0%), Austria (8.5%) and the Netherlands
(10.0%), and the highest in Greece (57.6% in October 2012) and Spain
(55.6%).
The calculation of the youth employment
rate excludes youth in full-time education. So Spain's rate of 55.6% does not
mean that more than half of Spaniards under 25 are unemployed.
In December 2012, the unemployment rate in the USA was 7.8%. In Japan it was
4.1% in November 2012.
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