Spain's Unemployment Rate Drops Slightly to 22.56 Percent
(APW_ENG_19960711.0446)
1) Spain's unemployment rate in April dropped to 22.56 percent from 22.72 in March, the National Statistics Institute announced on Thursday.
2) The rate was down 2.32 percent from April 1995.
3) The number of unemployed was 3.57 million in April, down 160,000 from the previous month, said the agency, which reports Spain's unemployment rate on a monthly and quarterly basis.
4) Figures are based on a survey of households.
5) Unemployment fell in all sectors except in first-time job seekers and agriculture.
6) In the first quarter of 1996, the unemployment rate was 22.91 percent, up from 22.77 percent in the last quarter of 1995.


July Jobless Rate Falls to 15.9 Percent
(APW_ENG_19960829.0094)
1) Finland's unemployment rate fell last month to 15.9 percent, down from 16.6 percent in June, the government statistics agency said Thursday.
2) It was also down from July last year, when 17.3 percent of the work force was out of a job.
3) Last month's jobless rate means that 421,000 people were unemployed in a work force of 2.65 million, Statistics Finland said. The Finnish jobless rate is one of the highest in the European Union.
4) Unemployment has gradually been falling from its January 1994 peak of 20.6 percent during the country's worst recession since World War II.


Spanish Unemployment rises to 21.8 pct Eds: RELEADS to CORRECT figure is for Nov.-Jan. sted quarter
(APW_ENG_19970401.0247)
1) Spain's unemployment rate rose to 21.87 percent over November, December and January, the national statistics institute said Tuesday.
2) The figure, a three-month average meant to show a trend for the first quarter of 1997, was up from 21.81 percent in the institute's last quarterly survey at the end of October, but was down 4.10 percent over December 1995.
3) The number of unemployed, including first-time job seekers, was a rounded 3.51 million, up 0.39 percent from a month earlier.
4) The rate, based on a National Institute survey of households, is one of two used to measure unemployment in Spain.
5) The institute reported in mid-February that Spain's unemployment rate fell to 21.78 percent in the fourth quarter of 1996.
6) The other rate, reported monthly by the National Employment Institute (INEM), is based on jobless benefits claims and put unemployment at 2.22 million jobless at the end of December.


EU unemployment remains unchanged at 10.8 percent
(APW_ENG_19970618.0554)
1) The European Union's average seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at 10.8 percent in April, according to figures released Wednesday.
2) In its monthly bulletin, the EU statistics agency Eurostat registered a total of 18.1 million jobless people in the 15 EU-member countries in April 1997, the same as for March.
3) Unemployment across the 15-nation Union has barely budged in recent months _ the EU-wide jobless rate was 10.9 percent in April 1996, and 10.7 percent in April, 1995.
4) The overall jobless rate for April 1997 remained roughly double the U.S. rate (4.9 percent in March) and triple Japan's (3.2).
5) Luxembourg enjoyed the EU's lowest unemployment at 3.7 percent; Austria had the second-lowest rate at 4.4 percent.
6) Spain continued to have the EU's highest reported unemployment rate by far _ 20.9 percent. Current figures were not provided for Greece, Italy or the Netherlands.
7) The unemployment rate for women in the EU was 12.6 percent; the rate for men was 9.5 percent.
8) Unemployment in Germany, the Union's biggest economy, fell slightly to 9.6 percent in April from 9.7 percent in March. (sg)


Australian June jobs data show economy holding up well
(APW_ENG_19980709.0018)
1) Economists are encouraged by a larger than expected rise in employment in June and say it indicates the Australian economy is weathering the impact from the economic slump in Asia quite well.
2) The Bureau of Statistics on Thursday said employment rose by 20,200 in June, above economists' forecasts for a seasonally adjusted increase of 10,000.
3) While the unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent in May, the participation rate, or proportion of adults either working or actively seeking work, rose to 63.4 percent, from 63.2 percent. Economists had expected unchanged unemployment and participation rates.
4) ``And despite the downturn in Asia, there is still great resilience and vigor in the labor market in Australia, and a further twenty-odd thousand jobs created last month is very good news indeed,'' Prime Minister John Howard said.
5) Howard's government won a national election in March 1996 after 13 years in opposition.
6) ``While sentiment and confidence surveys point to weakness, that isn't filtering through into hard numbers,'' said Anthony Thompson, senior economist at HSBC Markets Australia Ltd.
7) An index of consumer sentiment compiled by Westpac Banking Corp. and Melbourne Institute fell 6.9 percent in June.
8) Also, a quarterly survey of business expectations published by the Bureau of Statistics at the end of June showed businesses expected a 0.1 percent fall in employment in the second quarter of 1998, followed by a 0.7 percent drop in the third quarter.
9) ``Given 60 percent of our exports go to the (Asian) region and much of our tourism comes from there, the Australian economy is probably riding out (the Asian crisis) better than originally expected,'' said Colonial State Bank's chief economist Craig James.
10) The latest figures show the government roughly met its forecast on unemployment for last fiscal year, which ended June 30, 1998, despite the fallout from the slump in the Asian economies.
11) The government forecast that unemployment would average 8.25 percent over 1997-98. Thursday's data show an average unemployment rate of 8.3 percent over the year.


More Europeans in work in September as economy shows signs of recovery
(APW_ENG_20051104.0496)
1) Unemployment in the 12 countries using the euro fell to 8.4 percent in September as the European economy shows signs of a sluggish recovery.
2) Euro-zone unemployment fell slightly from 8.5 percent in August, the EU statistical agency Eurostat said. The jobless rate stood at 8.8 percent in September 2004.
3) The percentage of jobless in the entire European Union was 8.6 percent, no change from the previous month but dropping from 9.0 percent in September 2004.
4) Eurostat said fifteen countries reported a decline in their unemployment rates over the year, with sharp drops seen in Lithuania to 7.6 percent, Estonia to 7.1 percent and Spain to 9.3 percent. Unemployment rose slightly in Cyprus, Hungary, Luxembourg and Belgium.
5) The figures show widespread differences in the number of jobs available across the bloc. Ireland had the lowest unemployment rate at 4.3 percent, followed by the Netherlands at 4.6 percent and Denmark at 4.7 percent. Britain's last figures for July showed unemployment of 4.6 percent.
6) Two eastern European countries reported the highest rate of jobless. Poland topped the EU with a 17.7 percent, while Slovakia had 16.4 percent. Greece posted a 9.9 percent jobless rate in June, just ahead of France at 9.4 percent in September.
7) Poland, Slovakia and Greece also report the highest rates of unemployment for young people. Over a third of Polish workers under 25 are out of work.
8) Germany has more than 4.56 million people out of work, as the unemployment rate edged down to 11 percent in October with more companies hiring part-time workers.
9) The dip comes after a closely watched survey showed business confidence in Germany rising to a five-year high last month.
10) In western Germany, the unadjusted jobless rate in October was 9.4 percent. It was nearly twice as high _ 17 percent _ in the formerly communist and economically struggling east.
11) In September 2005, the U.S. unemployment rate was 5.1 percent and the Japanese rate was 4.2 percent.


German unemployment edges lower to 7.4 percent
(APW_ENG_20080930.0348)
1) Unemployment in Europe's biggest economy in September fell for a second month running, the German federal employment office said Tuesday.
2) The unemployment rate was 7.4 percent, down 0.2 percent from August when the rate stood at 7.6 percent.
3) The decline is part of a larger drop in Germany's unemployment rate, which fell below 8 percent in May for the first time since 1992.


Australian unemployment jumps to 4-year high
(APW_ENG_20090312.0286)
1) Unemployment in Australia rose to its highest level in nearly four years in February, showing the global downturn continues to bite despite big interest rate cuts and the government pumping billions of dollars into the economy.
2) The Australian Bureau of Statistics said Thursday that unemployment rose to 5.2 percent from 4.8 percent in January. Economists expected the jobless rate would rise to 5 percent. Total employment rose by just 1,800 to 10.8 million, but full-time employment decreased by 53,800. Part-time employment was up 55,600.
3) "These figures show that the global financial crisis and global recession is impacting on Australia and it's impacting on the jobs of Australians," Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard told reporters in Canberra. "The government's always said that we wouldn't be immune from the global financial crisis and the global recession which has wreaked so much havoc in economies around the world."
4) The global downturn that began to bite last year has brought about a swift reversal of fortunes for Australia's economy, which has enjoyed 17 consecutive years of growth fueled by voracious demand from China and elsewhere for its mineral exports.
5) Although Australia is not yet officially in a recession, figures released last week indicate it could be headed that way. Australia's economy shrank 0.5 percent in the last quarter of 2008 -- the economy's first contraction in eight years. Australia considers its economy in recession if it experiences two consecutive quarters of contraction.
6) The bad jobs news came despite the efforts of the federal government and the Reserve Bank of Australia to bolster the economy. The government passed two stimulus packages totaling 52.4 billion Australian dollars ($34 billion) in the last few months, and the central bank cut its key interest rate by 4 percentage points from September to February.
7) "Any job loss in Australia is one too many as far as I'm concerned, but had we waited and done nothing instead of acting decisively, these unemployment figures would be much worse," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
8) Prospects for employment remain gloomy, with the federal government predicting a jobless rate of 5.5 percent by June, and 7 percent by the same time next year.
9) The latest figures showed states most associated with mining and manufacturing were hit the hardest, with Western Australia experiencing the biggest jump in unemployment -- surging to 4.2 percent in February from 3.3 percent in the previous month.
10) The Reserve Bank left the key interest rate unchanged at 3.25 percent earlier this month, but many economists predicted that would change in the wake of Thursday's grim news.
11) Commonwealth Bank senior economist John Peters said he expected the bank to cut the rate to 2.75 percent on April 7, from its current 45-year low. "The Reserve Bank will be doing some more cutting ... although the large cuts are behind us," he said.


Australian unemployment jumps to 5-year high
(APW_ENG_20090409.0149)
1) Unemployment in Australia rose to its highest level in more than five years in March, reflecting the continuing fallout from the global economic crisis.
2) The Australian Bureau of Statistics said Thursday that unemployment rose to 5.7 percent from 5.2 percent in February -- the highest level since October 2003, when the jobless rate reached 5.8 percent.
3) Economists had predicted a jobless rate of 5.4 percent in March.
4) Total employment dropped by 34,700 to 10.8 million. Full-time employment decreased by 38,900, while part-time employment rose by 4,200.
5) "These figures are sobering news," Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard told reporters in Canberra. "This global financial crisis and global recession has hit jobs around the world and, of course, is having a significant impact on jobs in this country."
6) In February, the federal government predicted a jobless rate of 5.5 percent by June, rising to 7 percent by mid-2010.
7) "There was never any doubt that employment would weaken, though we had thought the decline would continue to be more gradual," said John Edwards, HSBC chief economist of Australia and New Zealand. "We expect the unemployment rate to increase towards at least 7.5 percent in the first quarter of next year."


German unemployment falls in May
(APW_ENG_20090528.0407)
1) Germany's jobless rate dropped in May thanks to a regular spring boost to employment, but showed no signs of a lasting recovery from the recession in the jobs market, the Federal Labor Agency said Thursday.
2) The number of jobless dropped 127,000 in May to 3.458 million for a 0.4 percentage point decline in the unemployment rate to 8.2 percent, the Nuremberg-based agency said.
3) Unadjusted figures, the headline number in Germany, usually improve in spring as more seasonal and construction workers are taken on.
4) The rate had stagnated at 8.6 percent in April -- when spring effects usually kick in.
5) "The spring revival in the labor market arrived late this year and brings a clear decline in the unemployment rate," said Frank-Juergen Weise, chairman of the Labor Agency. "But taking into account all other indicators of the labor market, we cannot in any case speak of a turnaround."
6) Seasonally adjusted figures showed a decline in the unemployment rate to 8.2 percent in May from 8.3 percent in April.
7) The German economy, Europe's biggest, went into recession in last year's third quarter. The government forecast last month that it will shrink by 6 percent this year before recovering slightly next year, pushing up unemployment.
8) It predicted that the number of Germans out of work will average some 3.7 million this year -- an increase of some 450,000 from 2008 -- before rising more sharply next year to 4.6 million.
9) Timo Klein, an IHS Global Insight economist said that in addition to the long winter pushing the spring employment increase a month later, the statistical office has also changed its methodology in May, lowering official unemployment by between 15,000 to 20,000.
10) Consequently, he said his firm is still expecting unemployment to rise throughout 2009 and 2010.
11) "Notwithstanding the fact that consumer demand continues to be supported by sharply falling inflation, healthy recent wage and pension increases, and the government's economic stimulus measures, export and investment demand are both suffering very sharply and no major sustained recovery can be expected ahead of mid-2010," Klein said in a research note. "Unemployment will therefore now remain on a rising trend until well into 2010."
12) Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, there continued to be a wide disparity in unemployment between former East and West Germany, the Labor Agency report showed.
13) The former West German states had an unemployment rate of 6.9 percent in May, compared with a rate of 13.3 percent in the former East German states.
14) The lowest unemployment was seen in Bavaria, with a 4.7 percent rate, while Berlin saw the highest at 14.2 percent, the agency reported.


Australian consumer confidence surges
(APW_ENG_20090610.0273)
1) Australian consumers swung from pessimism to optimism for the first time in 17 months after the economy avoided slipping into recession in the first quarter, a survey showed Wednesday.
2) The Westpac-Melbourne Institute index of consumer sentiment posted its biggest increase in 22 years in June, leaping to 100.1 points from 88.8 from May. A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists.
3) Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said the "truly remarkable" turnaround in sentiment was also the second-largest increase in the index since the survey began in 1974.
4) "On the assumption that Australia had avoided a recession and the worst had passed, consumers have become much more confident," he said.
5) Gross domestic product expanded by 0.4 percent in the three months ended March from the previous quarter, after contracting by 0.6 percent in the December quarter. The growth allowed Australia to avoid recession, which is two straight quarters of contraction in the economy.
6) Economic stimulus from low interest rates and federal government handouts also encouraged consumers, as did a fall in the unemployment rate.
7) Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan said improvement in consumer confidence proved that the government's stimulus package was working but warned that the global crisis would still affect Australia.
8) "We shouldn't get carried away with month to month figures, but these figures do provide some evidence of the benefit of the federal stimulus and its impact on consumer confidence," Swan said. "We can't be complacent as the global recession is having an impact upon our economy ... There is a rocky road ahead."
9) The index is now at its highest level since January 2008.


Australia ' s jobless rate rises to six-year high
(APW_ENG_20090709.0149)
1) Australia's unemployment rate rose to a six-year high of 5.8 percent in June as companies shed workers despite the government's massive stimulus spending, official figures showed Thursday.
2) The Australian Bureau of Statistics said the number of people in jobs fell by 21,400 with a small increase in the number of part-time employees overwhelmed by losses in full-time employment.
3) The increase in joblessness was more moderate than economists had predicted. The rate hit 5.8 percent for the first time since October 2003, rising from 5.7 percent in May.
4) Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said it was expected that the global financial crisis would continue to affect Australian jobs but the government was committed to stimulus measures to lessen the impact.
5) "We still have a long and rocky road ahead of us as a result of the global recession," she said. "Many employers are doing all they can during the difficult days of the global recession to hold onto their work force. Our focus is to keep Australians working."
6) The government in February passed a 42 billion Australian dollars stimulus package that included building thousands of new houses and school rooms, tax breaks for small businesses and delivering cash rebates to most Australians. The package aims to support 90,000 jobs over two years through a combination of creating new positions and saving existing jobs.
7) Even with these measures, the federal government has warned that the unemployment rate could rise to 8.5 percent in mid-2011, leaving 1 million people looking for work.
8) Citigroup senior economist Josh Williamson said the labor force report could have been much worse.
9) "It's a fairly encouraging result to see that the unemployment rate remains low given where we are in the slowdown compared to previous contractions in economic activity," Williamson said.
10) The nation's jobless rate has risen 1.9 percentage points in the past 15 months after reaching a 33-year low of 3.9 per cent in February 2008.


NZ ' s jobless rate hits 6 percent, 10-year high
(APW_ENG_20090806.0086)
1) New Zealand's unemployment rate has hit a 10-year high of 6 percent, new figures showed Thursday.
2) Government-funded Statistics New Zealand said that during the last 12 months the number of unemployed rose by 48,000 to 138,000. Women were the most affected, the data showed.
3) "The unemployment rate rose by 1.0 percentage point during the June 2009 quarter, the largest quarterly increase since the September 1988 quarter," it noted, as it released its latest Household Labor Force Survey.
4) The survey showed the jobless rate has increased in each of the past six quarters, from a low of 3.5 percent in the quarter ended December 2007.
5) The latest spike was largely driven by a rise in the number of women registered as unemployed in the quarter ended June 30, it said. About 12,000 women reported losing their jobs in that period, while the number of unemployed men rose by 8,000.
6) The survey -- which measures all people out of work, not just those who qualify for benefits -- shows female unemployment running at 6.3 percent compared to 5.7 percent for men.
7) In the latest quarter, 18,000 full-time jobs were lost, or 1.1 percent, while 7,000 part-time jobs were added, or 1.3 percent.
8) Social Development and Employment Minister Paula Bennett said despite the larger than expected rise in the number of people out of work, New Zealand is "holding up internationally, with an unemployment rate well under the OECD average of 8.3 percent."
9) The economy has been in recession since the start of 2008, but "the single biggest quarterly increase in the unemployment rate since September 1988 ... is obviously of concern to this government," she added.


World unemployment up despite economic recovery
(APW_ENG_20091106.0230)
1) Despite signs of an economic revival gathering pace around the globe, the millions of people laid off during the worst recession in 70 years are unlikely to see relief any time soon as joblessness is still climbing in many of the world's largest economies.
2) Unemployment data typically lags other indicators of economic health as companies hold off adding staff in the early stages of a rebound. The upturns recorded recently in the United States, France, Germany and elsewhere have been largely driven by temporary factors such as industry restocking following spending freezes, as well as the billions spent on stimulus programs.
3) This week the European Union forecast unemployment in the eurozone will rise to 10.7 percent in 2010 from 9.5 percent this year.
4) Unemployment rates in the 30 wealthy countries that belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development range from a low of 3.5 percent in the Netherlands to 18.3 percent in Spain, according to September figures.
5) And eurozone unemployment rose to a 10-year high of 9.7 percent in September.
6) In the developing world, the downturn has also taken its toll. Unemployment in Brazil appears now to be stabilizing, but in Mexico, after hitting a 13-year high in August, unemployment has continued to rise, reaching 6.4 percent in September.
7) In the United States, economists expect the unemployment rate will tick up to 9.9 percent when October's figure is reported Friday. The jobless rate hit a 26-year high of 9.8 percent in September.
8) Here is a look at unemployment rates around the world:
9) GERMANY -- German unemployment fell for a second month in October, but the effects of the financial crisis lingered and it is still too early to expect a turnaround in the economy, the country's labor ministry said. The unadjusted jobless rate in Europe's biggest economy was 7.7 percent, down from 8 percent the previous month and below the 8.3 percent in August, the Federal Labor Agency said. The dip in unemployment comes nearly two weeks after the German government raised its growth forecast and predicted that Europe's biggest economy will expand by 1.2 percent in 2010, up from an earlier prediction of 0.5 percent.
10) FRANCE -- The increase in French jobless lines has been somewhat tempered by government incentives such as exempting payroll taxes for some workers. The unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent in September from 7.8 percent in 2008, according to the OECD. It is expected to hit 10 percent by the end of the year.
11) BRITAIN -- Britain's Office for National Statistics says unemployment in the United Kingdom was 7.9 percent in the three months to August. The rate held although the number of people out of work was 88,000 higher than in the previous three months, the report said. The number of jobless looks on course to pass the three million mark next year as the impact of the recession translates to rising dole queues.
12) JAPAN -- Japan's unemployment rate fell for the second straight month in September as companies gained more confidence in the stimulus-fueled global recovery but prices continued to tumble, underscoring weak demand at home. The jobless rate stood at a seasonally adjusted 5.3 percent in September, down from 5.5 percent the previous month and a record high of 5.7 percent in July, the government said Friday. The figures suggest job losses in the world's second-biggest economy are easing as companies gain more confidence that global demand for Japan's cars, electronics and other mainstay exports is picking up. Japan's factory output posted its seventh consecutive rise in September.
13) CHINA -- The official urban unemployment rate was 4.3 percent for the three months ended Sept. 30, unchanged from the previous three month period. But the actual level could be more than double that because the government system ignores millions of migrant workers and employees who are furloughed by state companies but not recorded as laid off. As of Sept. 30 there were 9.15 million registered unemployed people in an urban workforce of 210 million. As many as 30 million migrants are believed to have lost jobs in export-oriented factories in late 2008, government officials said.
14) BRAZIL -- The government says the unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in August -- virtually unchanged from the previous month. Brazil emerged from recession in the second quarter. Analysts predict the economy will expand slightly in 2009.


Australian jobless rate unexpectedly falls in Nov
(APW_ENG_20091210.0225)
1) Australia's jobless rate unexpectedly fell in November as full-time employment surged, raising the prospect of more interest rate hikes as the country's economic recovery gains momentum.
2) The jobless rate fell to 5.7 percent from 5.8 percent in October with 30,800 new full-time jobs created during the month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Thursday. Part-time employment increased by 300.
3) Economists had expected the jobless rate to rise to 5.9 percent. The government's official forecast is for unemployment to peak at 6.75 percent next year.
4) The Reserve Bank of Australia last week raised its key interest rate for the third month in a row -- by a quarter percentage point to 3.75 percent as the country's economy rebounds from the global downturn.
5) In October, Australia became the first major economy to raise interest rates since the outbreak of the financial crisis when the RBA hiked its key cash rate by a quarter point from a 50-year low.
6) The country has weathered the downturn better than other Western economies because of demand from China for its mineral resources, stable banks and the government's stimulus spending.
7) Treasurer Wayne Swan said the latest jobs figures show the impact of the 42 billion Australian dollars ($39 billion) stimulus package.
8) "Through stimulus we have been able to have a fundamental impact on confidence -- both business confidence and consumer confidence," he said.
9) Employment Minister Julia Gillard said the government expects the jobless rate to start rising again next year, and stood by the forecast of 6.75 percent by mid-2010.


Australia jobless rate rises slightly to 5.3 pct
(APW_ENG_20100311.0170)
1) Australia's unemployment rate edged up slightly to 5.3 percent in February, the first rise since peaking at 5.8 percent last October, the government said Thursday.
2) Just 400 jobs were added in February, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Economists had expected the jobless rate to edge up to 5.4 percent with 10,000 jobs being created in February.
3) Federal Employment Minister Julia Gillard called it "a steady result," also noting a slight increase in the number of hours worked.
4) "We are seeing employers move to taking on more full-time employees and reducing part-time work," Gillard told reporters.
5) The data showed the creation of 11,400 full-time jobs, but an 11,000 drop in part-time workers. January's jobless rates was revised down to 5.2 percent after initial figures last month put the rate at 5.3 percent.
6) "I think this is showing us the benefits of cooperation between employers, employees and unions during the global financial crisis, where many businesses moved to lesser working hours so that they could hold people in work ... and now as they can they are moving peole to a greater number of hours," Gillard said.
7) Australia narrowly avoided recession during the global economic crisis, recording only one quarter of contraction -- in the three months through December 2008.
8) Since late 2008, the government has rolled out a more than 40 billion Australian dollar ($37 billion) stimulus spending program, and the central bank slashed interest rates to try to protect the economy.