Based on the definition recommended by the International Labour Organisation, unemployment in Croatia in February 2017 slipped to 11.6% from 11.9% in January, while on the year it fell 2.8 percentage points, the biggest fall in the EU, followed by Spain (-2.5 pp), Portugal (-2.2 pp) and Ireland (-1.8 pp).
In February 2017, there were 209,000 jobless in Croatia, 6,000 fewer than in January 2017 and 57,000 fewer than in February 2016.
Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates in February 2017 were recorded in the Czech Republic (3.4%), Germany (3.9%) and Malta (4.1%). The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (23.1% in December 2016) and Spain (18.0%).
The EU28 unemployment rate was 8% in February 2017, down from 8.1% in January 2017 and from 8.9% in February 2016, and was the lowest rate recorded in the EU28 since January 2009.
Eurostat estimates that 19.750 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 15.439 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in February 2017. Compared with January 2017, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 153,000 in the EU28 and by 140,000 in the euro area. Compared with February 2016, unemployment fell by 1.852 million in the EU28 and by 1.246 million in the euro area.
Eurostat did not have data on youth unemployment (under 25) in Croatia in February 2017, but raised its forecast of youth unemployment in the last quarter of 2016 by 0.7 pp to 28.8%.
In February 2017, 3.905 million young persons were unemployed in the EU28, of whom 2.722 million were in the euro area. Compared with February 2016, youth unemployment decreased by 475,000 in the EU28 and by 309,000 in the euro area. In February 2017, the youth unemployment rate was 17.3% in the EU28 and 19.4% in the euro area, compared with 19.3% and 21.6% respectively in February 2016. In February 2017, the lowest rate was observed in Germany (6.6%), while the highest were recorded in Greece (45.2% in December 2016), Spain (41.5%) and Italy (35.2%).