The unemployment rate across the troubled Euro zone hit 11.8% in November, up from 11.7% in October, with the number of people out of work in the 17-nation single currency area now nudging 19 million. Spain again recorded the highest with 26.6% and 57% for the under-25s.
Unemployment in the Euro-zone hit a fresh high of 18.2 million in August, the EU statistics agency has said. The number out of work rose by 34.000, but after the July data was revised up, it meant the unemployment rate remained stable at a record high of 11.4%.
The Euro-zone could lose 4.5 million more jobs in the next four years unless the region shifts away from austerity, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has warned. That rise would take unemployment in the 17-nation bloc to 22 million.