Eurozone unemployment rate falls to lowest since February 2009

The unemployment rate in the eurozone unexpectedly ticked lower in June, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.

The seasonally-adjusted rate fell to 9.1% from a downwardly revised 9.2% in May and 10.1% in June last year, beating expectations for a reading of 9.2% and marking the lowest rate recorded since February 2009.

In the EU-28 group of nations, the unemployment rate came in at 7.7% in June, unchanged from May and down from 8.6% in the same month last year. This remains the lowest recorded rate in the EU-28 since December 2008.

Compared with May, the number of people unemployed fell by 183,000 in the EU-28 and by 148,000 in the eurozone.

The lowest unemployment rates were seen in Czech Republic, Germany, and Malta, while the highest rates were seen in Greece and Spain.