The number of young people unemployed in Ireland rose in February, according to EU statistics office Eurostat.
Around 30.8% of the country’s under 25s were unemployed during the month, up 0.4% on January but lower than figures from February 2012.
Youth unemployment across the euro zone was 23.9% during February, down 0.1%, while 23.5% of young people in the wider European Union were without jobs during that time.
Almost 3.6 million young people were unemployed in the euro zone during the month, an increase of 188,000 on figures from February 2012.
Eurostat estimates that 19.07 million people were unemployed in the euro zone in February, representing 12% of the region’s population. That is up 1.1% year-on-year but only marginally higher than figures for January.
Ireland’s overall unemployment rate was 14.2% during the month, the same as recorded in December 2012 and January 2013. Unemployment was at 15.1% in February 2012, according to Eurostat.
The office says that unemployment has risen in 19 member states and fallen in eight during the past year. Spain’s unemployment rose to 26.3% in February, up 2.4% on the same period last year, while Cypriot unemployment was 3.8% higher at 14%.
