(RTTNews) - The euro area jobless rate fell to a historic low in July despite fears of recession, data released by Eurostat revealed on Thursday.
The jobless rate fell to a seasonally adjusted 6.6 percent from revised 6.7 percent in June. In the same period last year, the rate was 7.7 percent. The unemployment rate was forecast to remain unchanged at June's initially estimated 6.6 percent.
The number of people out of work decreased 77,000 from June to 10.983 million. Compared with July 2021, unemployment declined 1.576 million.
The youth unemployment rate was 14.2 percent in July versus 14.4 percent in June. The region faces a difficult winter and recession looms, Jessica Hinds, an economist at Capital Economics, said. So the jobless rate is likely to rise from here, even if short-time working schemes cushion the blow.
The EU unemployment rate came in at 6.0 percent in July, down from 6.1 percent in June. The jobless rate among young people aged below 25 dropped to 14.0 percent from 14.2 percent a month ago.
