30/10/2020 16:28
In September 2020, the euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 8.3%, stable compared with August 2020 and up from 7.5% in September 2019. The EU unemployment rate was 7.5% in September 2020, stable compared with August 2020 and up from 6.6% in September 2019. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Unemployment in Cyprus increased to 8.0% (or 36,000 individuals, 8.7% for males and 7.2% for females) in September 2020, from 7.4% (33,000 individuals) in August.
In September 2020, 2.995 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of whom 2.451 million were in the euro area. In September 2020, the youth unemployment rate was 17.1% in the EU and 17.6% in the euro area, down from 17.8% and 18.3% respectively in the previous month.
Compared with August 2020, youth unemployment decreased by 97,000 in the EU and by 77,000 in the euro area. This decrease should be interpreted with caution: it might be explained by some young persons not actively seeking employment until the situation improves in the labour market. Compared with September 2019, youth unemployment increased by 259 000 in the EU and by 202 000 in the euro area.
This rate for Cyprus was 19.9% or 7000 individuals.
In September 2020, the unemployment rate for women was 7.9% in the EU, stable compared with August 2020. The unemployment rate for men was 7.1% in September 2020, also stable compared with August 2020. In the euro area, the unemployment rate for women increased from 8.8% in August 2020 to 8.9% in September 2020 while it decreased from 7.9% to 7.8% for men.
Eurostat estimates that 15.990 million men and women in the EU, of whom 13.612 million in the euro area, were unemployed in September 2020. Compared with August 2020, the number of persons unemployed increased by 42,000 in the EU and by 75,000 in the euro area. Compared with September 2019, unemployment rose by 1.811 million in the EU and by 1.376 million in the euro area.
Meanwhile, euro area annual inflation is expected to be -0.3% in October 2020, stable compared to September according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Inflation is expected at -1.3% in Cyprus and -2.0% in Greece.
Looking at the main components of euro area inflation, food, alcohol & tobacco is expected to have the highest annual rate in October (2.0%, compared with 1.8% in September), followed by services (0.4%, compared with 0.5% in September), non-energy industrial goods (-0.1%, compared with -0.3% in September) and energy (-8.4%, compared with -8.2% in September).
Finally, according to Eurostat, in the third quarter 2020, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 12.7% in the euro area and by 12.1% in the EU, compared with the previous quarter. These were by far the sharpest increases observed since time series started in 1995, and a rebound compared to the second quarter of 2020, when GDP had decreased by 11.8% in the euro area and by 11.4% in the EU. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP has however decreased by 4.3% in the euro area and by 3.9% in the EU in the third quarter of 2020, which represents a partial recovery after -14.8% and -13.9% respectively in the previous quarter.
Among the Member States, for which data are available for the third quarter 2020, France (+18.2%) recorded the highest increase compared to the previous quarter, followed by Spain (+16.7%) and Italy (+16.1%). Lithuania (+3.7%), Czechia (+6.2%) and Latvia (+6.6%) recorded the lowest increases. While a rebound was observed for all publishing countries compared to the second quarter, the year on year growth rates were still negative.