Eurozone unemployment rate steady near record highs

PanARMENIAN.Net - Official data showed the unemployment rate across the 18-country eurozone in February remained steady near record highs, according to the Associated Press.

The European Union's statistical agency said Tuesday, April 1, the jobless rate was 11.9 percent, where it has been since October. It peaked at 12.1 percent last year.

Eurostat says the rate for the wider 28-nation EU — which includes members like Britain and Poland that don't use the euro currency — dropped slightly to 10.6 percent from 10.7 percent in January.

The agency said 25.9 million were unemployed in the EU in February, but some 65,000 people found new jobs during the month.

The overall number of unemployed in the EU is down by 785,000 on the year as the bloc's economic recovery gathers pace and spreads to the most crisis-hit economies.