Latest data released by Eurostat - 8 January 2021
- Prior 8.4%
Euro area unemployment eased in November, defying estimates but Eurostat continues to caution that the data might underestimate the actual underlying impact of the pandemic on the region's labour market.
The figure disregards people who are registered as unemployed but are no longer looking for work or aren't available for work, so there's that to consider alongside the furlough programs that are masking actual labour market conditions.
For some context, this is the ILO definition of unemployment:
"The unemployed comprise all persons of working age who were: a) without work during the reference period, i.e. were not in paid employment or self-employment; b) currently available for work, i.e. were available for paid employment or self-employment during the reference period; and c) seeking work, i.e. had taken specific steps in a specified recent period to seek paid employment or self-employment."
