EU: Euro area Unemployment Rate edges lower to 8.3% in November vs. 8.5% expected

• Unemployment Rate edged lower in euro area and in EU in December.
• EUR/USD pair continues to trade in the negative territory below 1.2250.

The seasonally adjusted Unemployment Rate in the euro area declined to 8.3% in November from 8.4% in October, the data published by the Eurostat showed on Friday. This reading came in better than the market expectation of 8.5%.

Further details of the publication revealed that the Unemployment Rate in the EU improved to 7.5% from 7.6% in October.

"Compared with October 2020, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 222 000 in the EU and by 172 000 in the euro area," the press release read. "Compared with November 2019, unemployment rose by 1.795 million in the EU and by 1.425 million in the euro area."

Market reaction

The EUR/USD pair inched slightly higher after this report and was last seen losing 0.25% on the day at 1.2240.