Euro area unemployment 10.1%, inflation 0.4%
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Services is expected to have the highest annual inflation rate in September.
This remains the lowest rate recorded in the EU28 since March 2009. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Eurostat estimates that 20.973 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 16.326 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in August 2016.
Compared with July 2016, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 40 000 in the EU28, while it increased by 8 000 in the euro area. Compared with August 2015, unemployment fe
l by 1.587 million in the EU28 and by 875 000 in the euro area.
Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates in August 2016 were recorded in the Czech Republic (3.9%) and Germany (4.2%). The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (23.4% in June 2016) and Spain (19.5%).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate in August 2016 fell in twenty-four Member States, remained stable in Denmark, while it increased in Estonia (from 5.3% to 6.8% between July 2015 and July 2016), Austria (from 5.7% to 6.2%) and Belgium (from 8.0% to 8.2%). The largest decreases were registered in Croatia (from 16.6% to 12.9%) and Cyprus (from 14.7% to 12.1%).
In August 2016, the unemployment rate in the United States was 4.9%, stable compared to July 2016 and down from 5.1% in August 2015.
Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 0.4% in September 2016, up from 0.2% in August 2016, according to Eurostat.
Looking at the main components of euro area inflation, services is expected to have the highest annual rate in September (1.2%, compared with 1.1% in August), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (0.7%, compared with 1.3% in August), non-energy industrial goods (0.3%, stable compared with August) and energy (-3.0%, compared with -5.6% in August) ■