BRUSSELS - UNEMPLOYMENT in the 16 countries using the euro rose to 8.2 percent in January, the highest level in over two years, as over 250,000 jobs were lost, official EU data showed on Friday.
The eurozone jobless rate was up from 8.1 per cent in December and well above the 7.3 per cent recorded in January, 2008, as the European recession took its toll, according to figures from the European Union's Eurostat data agency.
The Eurostat estimates showed that 13.036 million people were jobless in the euro area, with the 8.2 per cent rate the highest since September 2006.
That meant a loss of 256,000 jobs across the zone and 386,000 jobs lost in the wider EU.
The January outcome marked the 10th consecutive monthly increase in unemployment, the curve shadowing the deepening recession.
For the 27-nation European Union as a whole the figures were not much better with the unemployment rate rising 0.1 percent to 7.6 per cent in January.
The unemployment rates varied widely between nations, with Spain posting a whopping 14.8 per cent while in the Netherlands the jobless rate stood at a mere 2.8 per cent. -- AFP
