The line graph compares four different types unemployed workers – all, professional, manual, and self-employed – in terms of working levels in the European Union over a decade, 1990-1999. Units are measured in percentages.
All four categories experienced an upward trend in the percentage of unemployed individuals, professional workers with varying levels of growth. Manual workers stood out as the dominant rate in the half of the period, but it was eventually replaced by self-employed workers.
Starting with level of manual workers, there is a considerable variation in the figures across the ten-year period, ranging from a low of approximately 7% at the start to a peak of just above 14% in 1994, before eventually dropping back to nearly 10% by 1999. Meanwhile, professional workers rate has a lower percentage in each year, but it slightly dropped until the year 1992 to about 1.6% before rising gradually up to 1997 to the just below 6%, and consistently recorded the lowest unemployment figures throughout the entire timeframe.
However, the trends were remarkably similar for both self-employees and the overall categories. The figure for all workers peaked at just above 12% in 1997, before falling to approximately 10% toward the end of the timeframe. Currently, self-employed workers registered the most substantial increase across the board. Starting at around 6% in 1990, their level climbed almost continuously to reach just under 12% by 1995. Despite a brief, minimal fluctuation, this segment eventually saw a dramatic surge, surpassing all other cohorts and hitting a peak of 12.5% in 1996, where it remained stable until the close of the period.