15-02-10 EU unemployed rates up by 28% in the first three trimesters of 2009
During the first three quarters of 2009, the number of unemployed person in the European Union increased by 28.5% compared to the same period the previous year. This comes down to about 4,6 million extra jobseekers. The number of employed persons decreased by 1.6% or, in other words, 3.6 million people. These are the most recent results of the labour force survey as polled by the Directorate-general Statistics and Economic information (Federal Public Service Economy) and the other 26 EU member-states.
In Belgium, employment decreased by 0.3% or 33,000 units. Especially young people, low schooled people and men felt the effects. Unemployment increased by 11.8% or 40,000 units. Unemployment increased the most among young people(+1607%), men (14.6%) and in Flanders (+25.3%). Another trend is that the increase in the number of highly qualified unemployed persons is a lot stronger than the increase in low qualified unemployed persons. In the third quarter of 2009, Belgium counted 4,150,000 active employees and 394,000 jobseekers. The rate of employment was 61.4%, the unemployment rate was 8.3% and the rate of activity was 66.9%.
