Investing.com – The euro zone’s unemployment rate rose unexpectedly for the second consecutive month in October, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, Eurostat said that the euro zone’s unemployment rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 10.3% in October from 10.2% in September.
Analysts had expected the euro zone’s unemployment rate to hold steady at 10.2%. The jobless rate stood at 9.6% in October 2010.
According to the data, the number of unemployed people in the euro zone was 23.55 million in October, of whom 16.29 million were in the euro area.
Compared with September, the number of persons unemployed increased by 130,000 in the EU27 and by 126,000 in the euro area.
Among euro zone member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, while Spain and Greece recorded the highest rates.
Following the release of the data, the euro held on to losses against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD shedding 0.22% to trade at 1.3284.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained lower. The EURO STOXX 50 slumped 0.5%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.65%, the FTSE 100 declined 0.25%, while Germany's DAX dropped 0.5%.
In a report, Eurostat said that the euro zone’s unemployment rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 10.3% in October from 10.2% in September.
Analysts had expected the euro zone’s unemployment rate to hold steady at 10.2%. The jobless rate stood at 9.6% in October 2010.
According to the data, the number of unemployed people in the euro zone was 23.55 million in October, of whom 16.29 million were in the euro area.
Compared with September, the number of persons unemployed increased by 130,000 in the EU27 and by 126,000 in the euro area.
Among euro zone member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, while Spain and Greece recorded the highest rates.
Following the release of the data, the euro held on to losses against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD shedding 0.22% to trade at 1.3284.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained lower. The EURO STOXX 50 slumped 0.5%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.65%, the FTSE 100 declined 0.25%, while Germany's DAX dropped 0.5%.