4 Apr 2013

Eurozone unemployment rate passes 19 million

1:46 pm on 4 April 2013

The official rate of unemployment in the eurozone hit a record high of 12% in February.

Statistics agency Eurostat says the number of people unemployed in the 17 member states rose by 33,000 during the month to 19.07 million.

The highest rate for a member state was Greece's 26.4%, although the most recent figure for that country was from December, followed closely by Spain's 26.3%.

Youth unemployment remains an area of particular concern, with 188,000 people aged under 25 joining the ranks of the unemployed in February, the BBC reports.

More than half the workforce in this age group are now out work in Spain and Greece, and almost a quarter out of a job across the eurozone as a whole.