Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Czech Republic had the second-lowest unemployment in the European Union in February, at 3.2 percent, while the Netherlands came in third, with 3.6 percent, according to the Eurostat agency.
Meanwhile, Spain had the highest seasonally-adjusted jobless rate in the EU, at 16.1 percent, according to the latest available data, while Greek unemployment was the second-highest at 15.8 percent, the agency's data showed.
Eurostat reported that the EU average for February was 7.5 percent, stable compared with January and up from 6.5 percent in February 2020.
Poland’s Central Statistical Office (GUS), which uses a different methodology, reported last month that the Polish jobless rate held steady at 6.5 percent in February, unchanged from January.
Poland's Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Gowin has said that the government has spent tens of billions to save more than 6.9 million jobs since the coronavirus crisis hit the country more than a year ago.
Support for businesses throughout the country has exceeded PLN 200 billion (EUR 44 billion, USD 52 billion) during the last 12 months, he added.
(gs)
Source: PAP, europa.eu/eurostat