Eurozone unemployment rate drops to 7.4% in Sept

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - The euro area unemployment rate fell to 7.4% in September, according to the EU statistical office on Wednesday.

September's reading was down from 7.5% a month ago and from 8.6% in September 2020, Eurostat said in a statement.

The number of people unemployed dropped by 255,000 on a monthly basis this September, it noted.

In the EU, the unemployment rate fell to 6.7%, down from 6.9% in August and 7.7% in the same month last year.

The eurozone/euro area, or EA19, represents member states that use the single currency -- euro -- while the EU27 includes all member countries of the bloc.

"Compared with August, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 306,000 in the EU27," it added.

The youth unemployment rate was 15.9% in the EU and 16% in the euro area this September, down from 16.1% and 16.3% respectively in the previous month.

Some 2.8 million young people under 25 years old were jobless in the EU, including 2.3 million in the eurozone.

The unemployment rate was 7.7% for women and 7.1% for men last month in the euro area.