Ukraine's 1.9% Unemployment Rate is the Lowest in Europe

KYIV, Ukraine, February 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --



Since the beginning of the year the rate of registered unemployment in Ukraine has increased by 0.1 percent totaling 1.9 percent. At the same time the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for the euro area (17 countries) was 10.4 percent; the EU (27 countries) unemployment rate amounted to 9.9 percent (as of December 2011).

As of February 1, 2012, Ukraine, the country of 45.6 million had 521 thousand people registered at the State Employment Service, compared to 483 thousand unemployed the previous month, according to the data revealed by the State Employment Service. Ukraine traditionally boasts the low unemployment rate, which is not common in Europe. For instance, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, estimated that 23.816 million men and women (16.469 million in the euro area) were jobless in December 2011. Compared with November 2011, the number of unemployed persons increased by 24 000 in the EU (20 000 in the euro area).

Among the EU Member States Austria showcased the lowest unemployment rate of 4.1 percent- almost twice as high as that of Ukraine. Austria was followed by the Netherlands - 4.9 percent. The third lowest unemployment rate was registered in Luxembourg (5.2 percent). The highest unemployment rate was registered in Spain - 22.9 percent. One third of the euro region's unemployed reside in Spain, according to the Eurostat. That means that every second young Spaniard is out of work. Spain was followed by Greece (19.2 percent) and Lithuania (15.3 percent).

Notably, the unemployment rate in Ukraine is also one of the lowest in the world. For instance, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that as of February 3, 2012,the unemployment rate in the country decreased to 8.3 percent- four times higher than that of Ukraine.

The global unemployment rate may be higher than reported. The index of registered unemployment comprises of those cases when people seeking jobs register at the State Employment Service. Thus, the figure indicates the number of unemployed people who turn to employment agencies. Methodology of the International Labor Organization (ILO) stipulates defining the rate as the ratio of unemployed to the economically active population aged 15-70 years. In Ukraine, according to the State Statistics Service, unemployment calculated under ILO methodology declined from 8.0to 7.8 percent.

SOURCE Worldwide News Ukraine