The unemployment rate in the 17-member eurozone reached a new record level of 11.8 percent in November.
The unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous month, reported the statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat.
The number of unemployed in the 17-member eurozone, whose population is approximately 330 million, reached nearly 19 million in November, with the army of unemployed having increased by more than two million in just the past year, according to Eurostat data.
Spain recorded the highest unemployment rate in the EU at 26.6 percent in November 2012, heavily affected by the collapse of the real estate market and bad bank loans. Following closely is Greece, with an unemployment rate of 26 percent in September 2012. Both countries also hold infamous records in the group under 25 years old, where unemployment rates reach around 57 percent.
According to seasonally adjusted data published by Eurostat for easier comparison with the EU’s main trading partners, unemployment rates in the USA and Japan were 7.8 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively.
