Eurozone jobless rate hits new record of 11.7 percent

Unemployment in the eurozone hit a record high in October with more than 170,000 more jobs lost as the debt crisis continued to undermine an economy slumping into recession, official data showed Friday.

The eurozone had a jobless rate of 11.7 percent in October, up from 11.6 percent in September, with the numbers out of work rising to 18.7 million from 18.49 million, the Eurostat data agency said.

The picture was particularly bleak for under 25-year-olds, with year-on-year figures showing almost one in four out of work both in the 17-nation eurozone and 27-nation European Union.

The highest unemployment rate was recorded again in Spain, where 26.2 percent of adults are out of work, with Austria again posting the lowest rate of 4.3 percent and benchmark Germany and the Netherlands at 5.4 and 5.5 percent respectively.

Across the 27-state European Union single market of half a billion consumers, 25.92 million men and women were out of work.

(AFP)