Unemployment in the Eurozone reached its highest level in 15 years in February. The latest numbers from Eurostat show that the number of unemployed workers in Eurozone countries stands at 10.9 percent. That translates to just over 17 million people without work.
In January, the unemployment rate was 10.7 percent.
Unemployment in the entire EU rose to 10.2 percent in February. Eurostat estimates that nearly 25 million people are jobless in the 27 EU member states, an increase of 1.87 million when compared to February 2011.? ?The crisis-stricken countries in southern Europe have been the hardest hit. Spain has the highest unemployment rate with 23.6 percent. Greece is second with 21 percent of workers out of a job. Italy, the EU’s third-largest economy, posted record unemployment numbers of 9.3 percent.
The countries with the lowest unemployment rates are Austria and the Netherlands, where unemployment is below five percent. Luxembourg and Germany report unemployment rates of less than six percent. Numbers from Statistics Denmark show the Danish unemployment rate hovering at just over six percent.
