Portugal’s unemployment rate at the end of 2017, compared to the end of the previous year, fell from 10.2% to 7.8%, the third largest reduction in the EU, according to data revealed by Eurostat.The unemployment across the eurozone fell to 8.7%, compared to 9.7% at the end of December 2016 and in all the EU's countries, the rate fell from 8.2% to 7.3% over the same period.
In the year-on-year change, Portugal recorded the third largest drop after Greece, from 23.3% to 20.7%, and after Croatia from 12.5% to 10.0%.
According to Eurostat, the European Union countries with the lowest unemployment rate at the end of last year were the Czech Republic (2.3%), Malta and Germany (3.6% each). The highest unemployment rate is in Greece (20.7%) and Spain (16.4%).
With regard to people under the age of 25, the unemployment rate fell to 17.9% in the euro area, down from 20.3% the year before, and to 16.1% in the EU, 18.0% the year before.
The Czech Republic (4.9%), Germany (6.6%) and Estonia (6.8%) recorded the lowest rates of youth unemployment at the year end but the figure for Greece, at over 40%, Spain at 36.8% and Italy at 32.2% represent critical problems for these governments.
In Portugal, this youth unemployment rate decreased to 22.1% in December 2017, down from 26.2% the year before.
