The FRED database contains updates of the unemployment rate in Spain (Figure 1-6) as well as unemployment rates for the European Union as a whole and for individual countries for the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate. Retrieve the monthly data series for the unemployment rates below starting in the year 2000 to the latest data:

Harmonized Unemployment Rate: Total: All Persons for the European Union Harmonized Unemployment Rate: Total: All Persons for Spain Harmonized Unemployment Rate: Total: All Persons for the United Kingdom

a. Is the most recent unemployment rate in the United Kingdom much lower than that in the European Union or in Spain?

b. How does the change in Spanish unemployment from its peak near April 2013 compare to the change in the unemployment rate for the European Union as a whole from its peak in May 2013?

Data from Figure 1-6

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Percent 30 25 20 15 10 10 5 0 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018