Eurozone unemployment hits record 11.9% in Jan: Data
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A woman begs for money amid passers by in downtown Milan, Italy on Tuesday, Jan 8, 2013. Unemployment in the 17-nation eurozone rose to a record 11.9 per cent in January from 11.8 per cent in December, with nearly 19 million people out of work, official data showed on Friday, March 1, 2013. -- FILE PHOTO: AP
BRUSSELS (AFP) - Unemployment in the 17-nation eurozone rose to a record 11.9 per cent in January from 11.8 per cent in December, with nearly 19 million people out of work, official data showed on Friday.
In the 27-member EU, the unemployment rate edged up to 10.8 per cent from 10.7 per cent in December, with 26.2 million jobless, the Eurostat agency said.
It said some 201,000 joined the jobless queues in the eurozone in January, and 222,000 in the EU, when compared with December.
Separately, inflation in the eurozone fell sharply in February to 1.8 per cent, putting it well below the European Central Bank's target rate for the first time in more than two years, official data showed on Friday.
