The European Union unemployment rate dropped from 8.8% in May 2005 to 8.2% in May 2006, according to a survey by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.

Denmark and the Netherlands recorded the lowest rates in May this year, (both 3.9%), Ireland - 4.3%, and Luxembourg 4.7%. Romania had a low 5.5% unemployment rate in May, compared to the highest unemployment rates in Poland (16.4%), Slovakia (15.5%), Greece (9.6%), France (8.8%) and Belgium (8.4%).

The largest relative falls were observed in Estonia (8.2% to 4.9%), Lithuania (8.7% to

5.6%), Denmark (5.2% to 3.9%), and the Netherlands (4.8% to 3.9%). The highest relative increases were registered in Malta (7.2% to 8.3%), the United Kingdom (4.6% in March 2005 to 5.2% in March 2006), Cyprus (5.1% in March 2005 to 5.5% in March 2006), Slovenia (6.2% to 6.5%), and Luxembourg (4.5% to 4.7%).

Eurostat estimates that, in May 2006, 17.8 million people are unemployed in the EU.