June: 10.0%

MNI survey median: 10.0%
MNI survey range: 10.0-10.1%

Previous: 10.0% May, 10.0% Apr, 10.0% Mar, 9.9% Feb, 9.9% Jan

FRANKFURT (MNI) – The Eurozone seasonally adjusted unemployment
rate was stable again in June as expected at 10.0%, unchanged since
March, Eurostat reported Friday.

Still, some 6,000 more people lost their jobs in June after a rise
of 41,000 May and a dip of 8,000 in April. This left the total at 15.771
million, for a rise of 788,000 on the year.

The unemployment rate for men was also stable on the month at 9.8%
and 0.5 point higher than a year earlier; the rate for women rose 0.1
point to 10.2%, half a point higher than in June 2009 as well.

Youth unemployment (i.e. those under 25), a pressing social problem
in most countries, stood at 19.6% in June, down 0.2 point from May, but
up 0.1 point on the year. Rates varied widely from a low of 8.1% in the
Netherlands to a whopping 40.3% in Spain.

After trending upwards for much of the last two years, unemployment
in the Eurozone is beginning to stabilize, albeit at uncomfortably high
levels for policy-makers.

Differences across countries remain pronounced. Eurostat’s
estimates showed unemployment in Germany stable at 7.0% in June, while
France saw a 0.1-point rise to 10.0%. Italian unemployment eased 0.1
point to 8.5%.

Unemployment in Spain rose 0.2 point to 20.0%, the highest level
the country has ever seen since Eurostat started keeping data in 1986, a
Eurostat official confirmed. (Official government figures, which are
calculated differently than Eurostat’s, showed Spanish unemployment at
20% already in March).

Among smaller countries, Austria (3.9%) and the Netherlands (4.4%)
had the lowest unemployment rates in June, while Slovakia (15.0%) and
Ireland (13.3%) were at the higher end.

Sentiment indicators suggest that prospects on the jobs front are
improving. July’s flash PMI polls pointed to more hiring in both
manufacturing (50.9) and the services (51.7).

According to the European Commission’s survey in July,
manufacturers’ hiring intentions rose for the 10th straight month. For
retailers, hiring expectations increased for the second straight month,
reaching the index’s long-term average. Households’ concerns about
unemployment over the next twelve months dropped for the fifth straight
month.

In Germany, the labor market continues to improve. National data
showed that the total number of employed persons rose for the fifth
straight month in June. Unemployment continued lower in July, down
20,000 to 3.21 million in seasonally-adjusted terms.

Given Germany’s surprisingly robust economic rebound, this trend is
likely to continue, experts reckon. The Ifo Institute said last week
that manufacturers expect to make “slight” increases in staff levels in
the coming months.

National data from France showed a surprising drop in registered
jobseekers of 8,600 in June. While the data indicated that improved
hiring prospects are encouraging some current job holders to look for
other positions, they do not reflect increased hiring. Rather, data show
a decline in layoffs and new labor market entries as well as fewer
expirations of short-term contracts or training programs.

In Spain, however, prospects are still grim as the end of the
construction-fueled boom has brought a rapid rise in unemployment. The
necessity of Spain’s government to cut its ballooning deficit means that
the state is not in a position to help put people back in employment
through publicly supported jobs.

Spain’s government said last week that 231 public works projects
will be suspended as part of the budget consolidation process, for a
total cutback E9.6 billion.

–Frankfurt bureau; +49-69-720142; tbuell@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: M$X$$$,M$XDS$,MT$$$$]