National unemployment rates range from 2.8% in Luxembourg and 3.2% in the Netherlands to 15.7% in Spain. Some countries, particularly those with more flexible labour markets, more moderate wage increases and better tax and social security policies, have managed to avoid the trend of ever-rising unemployment. For example, the Netherlands, Ireland and Portugal all currently show unemployment rates well below the euro area average.
There are also examples of other countries with higher unemployment rates, such as Spain, that have begun to take steps to reform their labour markets and are now beginning to see tangible results. We can also look at some of the non-participating EU Member States, such as Denmark and the United Kingdom, to see that high unemployment can be reduced through structural reforms.