Unemployment rate reaches new high in eurozone in April

BRUSSELS, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The unemployment rate in the eurozone was 12.2 percent in April, up 0.1 percentage point from March and reaching a new high since 2000, the European Union's (EU) statistical bureau Eurostat said Friday.

The jobless rate was up from 11.2 percent a year ago, a sign that the labor market in the eurozone deteriorated due to ongoing debt crisis, austerity measures and financial market turbulence.

For the 27-nation EU, the jobless rate stayed at 11 percent in April, unchanged from last month. It was 10.3 percent a year ago.

Eurostat estimated that 26,588 million men and women in the EU, of whom 19,375 million are in the euro zone, were unemployed in April.

Compared with March, the number of persons unemployed rose by 104,000 in the EU and by 95,000 in the euro zone. Compared with April last year, unemployment increased 1.67 million in the EU and by 1.64 million in the eurozone.

Among member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.9 percent), Germany (5.4 percent), and Luxembourg (5.6 percent), and the highest in Spain (26.8 percent) and Greece (27 percent in February).

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