Indicator Digest - CMS Forex

Unemployment Rate and Employment Change

Unemployment Rate measures the percentage of people that do not have jobs of all the people in the job force. Those people that are discouraged and "are not actively seeking work" are no longer counted. The participation rate tell you what percentage of the work-age population currently has a job.

Main Indicator: Unemployment Rate

Most Recent Release

April
30th, 2008

Actual

Forecast

Revised Form

7.1%

N/A

For March
Provided by EuroStat

Table of Past Data

	7/31	8/31	10/2	10/31	12/3	1/7	1/31	2/29	4/1	4/30

Actual	6.9%	6.9%	6.9%	7.3%	7.2%	7.2%	7.2%	7.1%	7.1%	7.1%
Forecast	6.9%	6.9%	6.9%	6.9%	7.3%	7.2%	7.1%	7.2%	7.1%	7.1%
Previous	7.0%	6.9%	6.9%	7.4%	7.3%	7.2%	7.2%	7.1%	7.1%	7.1%
Revised From	N/A	N/A	N/A	6.9%	N/A	N/A	N/A	7.2%	N/A	N/A

Secondary Indicator: Employment Change q/q

Most Recent Release

March
17th, 2008

Actual

Forecast

Revised Form

0.2%

0.3%

N/A

For 4th Quarter
Official Release: EuroStat (.PDF)

"The seasonally adjusted number of persons employed in the euro area1 (EA13) rose by 0.2% (270 000 persons) during the fourth quarter of 2007, according to provisional national accounts estimates published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment grew by 1.7% in the euro area. Over the whole year 2007, employment increased by 1.7% (2 446 000 persons)."

Table of Past Data

	3/17

Actual	0.2%
Forecast
Previous	0.3%
Revised From	N/A

Past Releases

Unemployment Rate

April
1st, 2008

Actual

Forecast

Revised Form

7.1%

N/A

For February
Provided by EuroStat

Unemployment Rate

February
29th, 2008

Actual

Forecast

Revised Form

7.1%

7.2%

7.1%

7.2%

For January
Provided by EuroStat

"The euro area1 (EA15) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate2 stood at 7.1% in January 2008, unchanged compared with December 20073. It was 7.7% in January 2007."

The unemployment rate was 7.1% for January, taking it to a new record low. December's figure was revised down from 7.2%. With consumers in a tight labor market, it should increase consumer income and spending, helping the euro-zone to weather the slowdown in the US.

Unemployment Rate

January
31st, 2008

Actual

Forecast

Revised Form

7.2%

7.1%

7.2%

N/A

For December.
Provided by EuroStat

Unemployment Rate

January
7th, 2008

Actual

Forecast

Revised Form

7.2%

N/A

For November.
Official Release from EuroStat

The unemployment rate in the Euro-zone remained at 7.2%, a record low. Last November the rate was 7.9%. In a report from Germany last week, the unemployment rate fell to 8.4% from 8.6% for December.

Unemployment Rate

December
3rd, 2007

Actual

Forecast

Revised Form

7.2%

7.3%

N/A

For October

The unemployment rate in the Euro Area has been steadily dropping since summer of 2005. Since last October, the rate dropped from 8.0% to 7.2%, according to Eurostat.

Unemployment Rate

October
31st, 2007

Actual

Forecast

Revised Form

7.3%

6.9%

7.4%

6.9%

For September

Expect to see higher numbers than before, but look for the trend. A switch to the "Labour Force Survey" (LFS) form the previous ILO Monthly Telephone Survey was implemented, and large revisions were made, according to the EuroStat report. "As a result, a big step forward is taken in the harmonisation of the measurement of unemployment in Europe." Although the numbers are about 1-2 points above the previous measures, the trend is similar and remains downwards since 2005 for the unemployment rate.

Unemployment Rate

October
2nd, 2007

Actual

Forecast

Revised Form

6.9%

N/A

For August.

Unemployment Rate

August
31st, 2007

Actual

Forecast

Revised Form

6.9%

N/A

Unemployment Rate

July
31st, 2007

Actual

Forecast

Revised Form

6.9%

7.0%

N/A

Eurostat reported that 22 member states of the European Union reported lower unemployment over the last year, while 4 reported an increase.