European unemployment rate stalls in March at 9.5%

The eurozone’s unemployment rate was steady at 9.5 per cent in March, falling short of economists’ expectations it would improve to 9.4 per cent.

This kept the rate at its lowest level since May 2009, after a downward trend from 2013′s peak at 12.1 per cent, the figures from Eurostat showed.

Other data this morning showed Italy’s unemployment rate rising two-tenths of a percentage point to 11.7 per cent, against expectations it would be steady, while Belgium’s unemployment rate improve a touch to 6.9 per cent.

As usual, the Czech Republic and Greece represent the extreme ends of the scale for the region.