Andalusia has the highest unemployment rate in EU

Andalusia has the biggest unemployment rate in the whole European Union. More than 36 percent of people are jobless in the Southern region of Spain. The figure is three times higher than the European average.

The most recent figures are not comforting for Spain. Andalusia leads Europe's top ten regions with highest unemployment. Five other Spanish regions have in excess of 30 percent jobless rate. The top ten is completed by French overseas region La Reunion (La Reunion is an island in the Indian Ocean) and two other Greek regions.

Andalusia is the second largest in area of all autonomous regions in Spain and the most populated with its capital city at Seville. The region relies heavily on agriculture and tourism, especially on the Southern coast. The booming construction sector sustained a massive blow in 2009 and brought down the economy. Spanish unemployment rate is 26 percent. The country is still trying to recover from the financial crisis.

The lowest unemployment regions are in Germany. The jobless rate in Upper Bavaria rates at only 2.6 percent, in Freiburg region at 2.9 percent and in Tuebingeng at 3 percent.