New figures suggest unemployment in the European Union is at its lowest level since January 2000.

Eurostat says the unemployment rate for the EU28 was at 6.2% in August.

Ireland places 15th, with an unemployment rate of 5.2%.

This is ahead of countries such as Spain (13.8%), Italy (9.5%) and Finland (6.8%).

The EU country with the lowest level of unemployment is Czechia (the Czech Republic), at just 2.0%.

This is followed by Germany (3.1%), Malta and Poland (both on 3.3%) and Hungary (3.4%).

Eurostat estimates that 15.432 million men and women in the EU28 were unemployed in August.

Some 12.169 million of these were in the Euro area.

Overall, the number of people unemployed decreased by 111,000 in the EU28 and by 115,000 in the Euro area compared with July.

The Euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 7.4 % in August - down from 7.5 % in July and from 8.0% in August last year.

The EU28 unemployment rate was 6.2 % in August - which is down from 6.3% in July 2019 and from 6.7% in August 2018.

And 3.138 million young persons, under the age of 25, were unemployed in the EU28 - of whom 2.202 million were in the Euro area.