Euro zone unemployment at 10%, hits 11-year high

London: Unemployment in the 16-member euro zone hit 10 per cent in December 2009, the worst since August 1998, according to EU statistics office, Eurostat. Figures released make it evident that the slow economic recovery unfolding across the euro zone was yet to result in job creation.

According to statistics released Friday, unemployment in the 16-member euro area was 9.9 per cent in November 2009 up from 8.2 per cent in December 2008. In the 27 member states of the EU (EU27), unemployment was 9.6 per cent in December 2009, up from 9.5 per cent in November 2009.

The current system of measuring joblessness in the EU began in January 2000.

According to Eurostat estimates, 23.012 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 15.763 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in December 2009. Compared to November, the number of people unemployed increased by 163,000 in the EU27, and by 87,000 in the euro area.

As compared to December 2008, unemployment was up by 4.628 million in the EU27, and by 2.787 million in the euro area.

Among EU member states, the lowest unemployment rates were in the Netherlands (4 per cent) and Austria (5.4 per cent), and the highest rates in Latvia (22.8 per cent) and Spain (19.5 per cent).