1. 60/2014 - 15 April 2014
Unemployment in the EU28 regions in 2013
Regional unemployment rates ranged from 2.6%
in Oberbayern to 36.3% in Andalucía
Regional unemployment rates
1
varied widely across the 272 NUTS 2 regions
2
of the EU28 in 2013, with the lowest
rates recorded in the regions of Oberbayern in Germany (2.6%), Freiburg in Germany and Salzburg in Austria
(both 2.9%), Tübingen in Germany and Tirol in Austria (both 3.0%), while the highest rates were registered in five
Spanish regions: Andalucía (36.3%), Ceuta (35.6%), Melilla (34.4%), Canarias (34.1%) and Extremadura
(33.7%).
Among the regions, 49 had an unemployment rate of 5.4% or less in 2013, half the average for the EU28 (10.8%).
They included twenty-three regions in Germany, eight each in Austria and the United Kingdom, three each in the
Czech Republic and Romania, two in Belgium and one each in Italy and the Netherlands. At the other extreme,
27 regions had a rate higher than 21.6%, double that of the EU28: thirteen regions in Spain, ten in Greece, three
French Overseas Departments
3
and one region in Italy.
These data
4
on regional unemployment, compiled on the basis of the EU Labour Force Survey, are published by
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Regional unemployment in Member States in 2013, %
National average
The bar shows for each Member State the range from the region with the lowest value to the region with the highest value
EU28 average
Youth unemployment rates varied from 4.4% in Oberbayern and Tübingen to 70.6% in Dytiki
Makedonia and 72.7% in Ceuta
In 2013, the average unemployment rate for young people
1
aged between 15 and 24 in the EU28 was 23.4%.
Regional differences in the unemployment rate for young people are however very marked. In the EU28 in 2013,
the lowest rates for young people were recorded in the German regions of Oberbayern and Tübingen (both 4.4%)
and Freiburg (4.7%), and the highest in Ceuta (72.7%) in Spain and Dytiki Makedonia (70.6%) and Ipeiros
(67.0%) in Greece. In more than three quarters of the EU28 regions, the unemployment rate for young people was
at least twice that for total unemployment.
2. Regions with highest and lowest unemployment rates in 2013, %
Total
Lowest Highest
1 Oberbayern (DE) 2.6 1 Andalucía (ES) 36.3
2=
Freiburg (DE) 2.9 2 Ciudad Autónoma de Ceuta (ES) 35.6
Salzburg (AT) 2.9 3 Ciudad Autónoma de Melilla (ES) 34.4
4=
Tübingen (DE) 3.0 4 Canarias (ES) 34.1
Tirol (AT) 3.0 5 Extremadura (ES) 33.7
6=
Praha (CZ) 3.1 6 Dytiki Makedonia (EL) 31.8
Mittelfranken (DE) 3.1 7 Castilla-la Mancha (ES) 30.1
Trier (DE) 3.1 8 Kentriki Makedonia (EL) 30.0
9 Vorarlberg (AT) 3.2 9 Región de Murcia (ES) 29.4
10=
Niederbayern (DE) 3.3 10 Réunion (FR) 28.9
Unterfranken (DE) 3.3
Schwaben (DE) 3.3
Young people (aged 15-24)
Lowest Highest
1=
Tübingen (DE) 4.4 1 Ciudad Autónoma de Ceuta (ES) (72.7)
Oberbayern (DE) 4.4 2 Dytiki Makedonia (EL) 70.6
3 Freiburg (DE) 4.7 3 Ipeiros (EL) 67.0
4 Schwaben (DE) 4.8 4 Andalucía (ES) 66.1
5 Mittelfranken (DE) 5.0 5 Canarias (ES) 65.3
6 Karlsruhe (DE) 5.8 6 Martinique (FR) 63.9
7=
Stuttgart (DE) 6.1 7 Kentriki Makedonia (EL) 61.8
Tirol (AT) (6.1) 8 Extremadura (ES) 61.7
9 Weser-Ems (DE) 6.7 9 Castilla-la Mancha (ES) 61.6
10=
Zeeland (NL) (7.0) 10 Attiki (EL) 60.6
Oberösterreich (AT) 7.0
In more than a quarter of the regions, the majority of the unemployed had been out of work for at
least a year
The long-term unemployment share, which is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons who have been
unemployed for 12 months or more, stood at 47.5% on average in the EU28 in 2013, and varied significantly across
the regions. In the EU28 in 2013, the lowest shares of long-term unemployed were recorded in six Swedish
regions: Övre Norrland (12.4%), Mellersta Norrland (13.1%), Norra Mellansverige (16.3%), Västsverige
(17.2%), Småland med öarna (17.3%) and Stockholm (17.5%), and the highest in the French Overseas
Departments of Guadeloupe (79.5%) and Guyane (77.6%) and Východné Slovensko (74.9%) in Slovakia.
Regions with highest and lowest long-term unemployment shares in 2013, %
Lowest Highest
1 Övre Norrland (SE) 12.4 1 Guadeloupe (FR) 79.5
2 Mellersta Norrland (SE) (13.1) 2 Guyane (FR) 77.6
3 Norra Mellansverige (SE) 16.3 3 Východné Slovensko (SK) 74.9
4 Västsverige (SE) 17.2 4 Dytiki Ellada (EL) 72.9
5 Småland med öarna (SE) 17.3 5 Stredné Slovensko (SK) 72.7
6 Stockholm (SE) 17.5
6=
Sterea Ellada (EL) 71.0
7 Nordjylland (DK) (18.3) Martinique (FR) 71.0
8 Östra Mellansverige (SE) 18.7 8 Peloponnisos (EL) 70.8
9 Oberösterreich (AT) (18.8) 9 Attiki (EL) 69.3
10=
Helsinki-Uusimaa (FI) 19.0 10 Kentriki Makedonia (EL) 69.0
Pohjois- ja Itä-Suomi (FI) 19.0
( ) Data with reduced reliability due to sample size.
3. 1. The unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons aged 15-74 in the economically active
population. According to the recommendations of the International Labour Organisation, a person is deemed to be
unemployed if all three of the following conditions are met:
he or she is without work during the survey reference week;
he or she is available for work, being able to take up employment within two weeks;
he or she has actively sought work over the past four weeks.
In particular, it should be noted that the youth unemployment rate does not reflect the proportion of all young people who are
unemployed, as not every young person participates in the labour market. Labour market participation of young persons
varies by country and region in the EU28, which influences the proportion of unemployed people in the total youth
population. For further details please refer to the Youth unemployment article in Statistics Explained:
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Youth_unemployment
The EU28 average is calculated as the average of the regional values. The figures may slightly differ from the EU
unemployment rate published in the Eurostat database, for which methodological breaks (see footnotes 5 and 6) have been
corrected.
2. These data are based on the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) as modified in January 2011. NUTS
2010 provides a uniform, consistent breakdown of territorial units for the production of regional statistics for the EU. Level 2
of the nomenclature has 272 regions: Belgium (11), Bulgaria (6), the Czech Republic (8), Denmark (5), Germany (38),
Ireland (2), Greece (13), Spain (19), France (26), Croatia (2), Italy (21), Hungary (7), the Netherlands (12), Austria (9),
Poland (16), Portugal (7), Romania (8), Slovenia (2), Slovakia (4), Finland (5), Sweden (8) and the United Kingdom (37).
Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Malta are all considered as single regions at NUTS 2 level. For a list of
the European statistical regions see:
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/nuts_nomenclature/introduction.
The statistical regions in the candidate and EFTA countries follow the principles of the NUTS classification; however there is
no legal base. There are 44 regions in these countries at Level 2: Norway (7), Switzerland (7), and Turkey (26). Iceland,
Liechtenstein, Montenegro and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are all considered as single regions at Level 2.
3. Data for French Overseas Departments (Guadelope, Martinique, Guyane and Réunion) refer to the second quarter of 2013.
4. For further regional data, please see the Eurostat web site:
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/region_cities/regional_statistics/data/database
5. For Estonia and Austria there is a break in the series between 2012 and 2013 due to census revisions.
6. INSEE, the French Statistical Office, has carried out an extensive revision of the Labour Force Survey questionnaire. The
new questionnaire was used from 1 January 2013 onwards. It impacts significantly the level of the French indicators
mentioned in this release. Detailed information on these methodological changes and their impact is available in INSEE's
website http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/info-rapide.asp?id=14 Box "Pour en savoir plus". Due to this revision, comparisons
with the past should be avoided.
Issued by: Eurostat Press Office
Tim ALLEN
Tel: +352-4301-33 444
eurostat-pressoffice@ec.europa.eu
Eurostat news releases on the internet:
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat
For further information on data:
Gorja BARTSCH
Tel: +352-4301-34 566
gorja.bartsch@ec.europa.eu
Daniela SCIRANKOVÁ
Tel: +352-4301-37 326
daniela.scirankova@ec.europa.eu
Follow Eurostat on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EU_Eurostat
For interactive maps on regional unemployment, visit Regional Statistics Illustrated:
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/RSI