Investing.com - The euro zone’s unemployment rate rose more-than-expected to a fresh record high in September, underscoring concerns over the impact of the region’s debt crisis on growth, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, Eurostat said that the euro zone’s unemployment rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 11.6% in September, up from 11.5% in August.
Analysts had expected the jobless rate to remain unchanged at 11.5%.
The jobless rate stood at 10.6% in September 2011.
According to the data, the number of unemployed people in the euro zone was 25.75 million in September, of whom 18.49 million were in the euro area.
Compared with August, the number of persons unemployed increased by 169,000 in the EU27 and by 146,000 in the euro area.
Among euro zone member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria, Luxembourg and Germany, while Spain at 25.8% and Greece at 25.1% recorded the highest rates.
Following the release of the data, the euro remained higher against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD gaining 0.33% to trade at 1.3001.
Meanwhile, European stock markets held on to gains. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.8%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.6%, London’s FTSE 100 eased up 0.1%, while Germany's DAX gained 0.7%.
In a report, Eurostat said that the euro zone’s unemployment rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 11.6% in September, up from 11.5% in August.
Analysts had expected the jobless rate to remain unchanged at 11.5%.
The jobless rate stood at 10.6% in September 2011.
According to the data, the number of unemployed people in the euro zone was 25.75 million in September, of whom 18.49 million were in the euro area.
Compared with August, the number of persons unemployed increased by 169,000 in the EU27 and by 146,000 in the euro area.
Among euro zone member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria, Luxembourg and Germany, while Spain at 25.8% and Greece at 25.1% recorded the highest rates.
Following the release of the data, the euro remained higher against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD gaining 0.33% to trade at 1.3001.
Meanwhile, European stock markets held on to gains. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.8%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.6%, London’s FTSE 100 eased up 0.1%, while Germany's DAX gained 0.7%.