(CN) – The European Union’s jobless rate held steady at 6.9 percent in June, the lowest rate recorded since the start of the Great Recession in 2008, the EU statistics agency Eurostat reported Tuesday.
Unemployment figures in the 19-state eurozone – EU nations that use the euro as currency – also stayed put at 8.3 percent in June, their lowest since December 2008. Jobless rates in Greece – 20.2 percent – and Spain’s rate of 15.2 percent dragged on the eurozone’s numbers, Eurostat reported.
The Czech Republic and Germany saw the lowest unemployment rates, at 2.4 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively. In all, 6 of the 28 EU states had jobless rates under 4 percent in June.
By way of comparison, the United States reported an unemployment rate of 4 percent in June, up slightly from 3.8 percent in May.
All member states reported lower jobless rates year over year, Eurostat said.
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