Finland Times

The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for the 19-country euro area was 10.2 percent in April 2016, stable compared with March this year and remaining the lowest rate recorded since August 2011, according to figures unveiled Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in the wider 28-country European Union (EU) was 8.7 percent in April 2016, being the lowest rate recorded since April 2009 and down from 8.8 percent in March 2016, the figures from Eurostat, or the EU statistical agency, showed.

Eurostat said compared with March 2016, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 106,000 in the EU and by 63,000 in the euro area.

Declines in the jobless rate were recorded in most euro zone countries. The largest decreases were registered in Cyprus, Bulgaria and Spain.

Among the EU member states, the lowest unemployment rates in April 2016 were recorded in the Czech Republic(4.1 percent), Germany (4.2 percent) and Malta (4.3 percent), while the highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (24.2 percent in February 2016) and Spain (20.1 percent), the EU agency noted.

"The downward trend in the jobless rate will likely persist in coming months, reflecting improving economic conditions around the monetary bloc, labor market reforms, and a strengthening industrial base in Spain, Portugal and Ireland," said Martin Janicko, economist at Moody's Analytics.

He added that businesses and consumers should benefit from easier access to credit following the easing of lending standards and a monetary stimulus from the European Central Bank.

The Europe's youth unemployment crisis continues, as the youth unemployment rate is now 21.1 percent in the eurozone and 18.8 percent in the EU. That means there are still 4.2 million under-25s are out of work across the EU and the young people are still bearing the brunt of Europe's unemployment problem.

The youth unemployment situation is much worse in some countries such as Greece (51.4 percent in February 2016), Spain (45.0 percent), Croatia (38.9 percent in the first quarter 2016) and Italy (36.9 percent).

However in Germany, Malta and the Czech Republic, the figures are respectively 7.0 percent, 8.9 percent and 9.5 percent.

In April 2016, the unemployment rate in the United States was 5.0 percent, stable compared with March 2016, and down from 5.4 percent in April 2015.