Brussels, Aug 30 (IANS) The unemployment rate for the eurozone stood at 12.1 percent in July, the same as the previous month and also the highest since such statistics were first publicised in 1995, European Union (EU) statistics office said Friday.
In the wider 28-member EU, the overall unemployment rate in July was also the same as the previous month at 11 percent, Xinhua reported citing Eurostat figures.
In both zones, jobless rates have risen markedly compared with July 2012 when they were 11.5 percent in the 17-nation eurozone and 10.5 percent in the EU, respectively.
Eurostat estimates that 26.65 million men and women in the EU, of whom 19.23 million were in the eurozone, were unemployed in July 2013. Compared with June 2013, the number of people unemployed decreased by 33,000 in the EU and by 15,000 in the euro area.
The lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria at 4.6 percent, Germany at 5.4 percent, and Luxembourg at 5.7 percent, according to Eurostat statistics.
The highest jobless rates were registered in Greece at 27.6 percent and Spain at 26.3 percent.
Youth unemployment remains a challenge for the EU. In July, 5.56 million young people under the age of 25 were unemployed in the EU, of whom 3.5 million were in the eurozone.
In July, the youth unemployment rate was 23.4 percent in the EU and 24 percent in the eurozone, higher than 22.9 percent and 23.3 percent respectively in July 2012, the figures showed.
The lowest youth jobless rates were observed in Germany at 7.7 percent and Austria at 9.2 percent, while the highest were recorded in Greece at 62.9 percent and Spain at 56.1 percent.
