BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone unemployment entered unexpectedly for the second month in a row in November, although the rate rose for younger people and the return of coronavirus restrictions could be means that the development is short-lived.
The European Union’s statistical office Eurostat said on Friday that the unemployment rate fell to 8.3% in November from 8.4% in October. Economists called Reuters expected it to rise to 8.5%. In November 2019, the rate was 7.4%.
Compared to October, the number of unemployed fell by 172,000 in the euro area, although it rose 1.425 million from a year earlier.
Compared to the improvement for the population as a whole, for people under 25 the unemployment rate rose to 18.4% in November from 18.0% in October.
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Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Edited by Toby Chopra