Euro zone jobless rate at 10.1% in August

The unemployment rate in the 16-nation Euro zone remained unchanged at 10.1 per cent in August, reflecting that European labour market recovery continues to be sluggish.

"The euro area's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 10.1 per cent in August 2010, unchanged compared with July," Eurostat, the statistical agency of the European Union (EU), said in a statement today.

Eurozone is a grouping of 16 countries that share the common currency euro.
    
In the 27-nation EU, the jobless rate was at 9.6 per cent in August. During that period, as many as 23.07 million men and women were without jobs in the region.
    
The count of unemployed people in the euro zone touched 15.87 million in August.
    
"Compared with July, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 68,000 in the EU and by 20,000 in the euro area. Compared with August 2009, unemployment rose by 0.894 million in the EU and by 0.569 million in the euro area," the statement noted.
    
The highest August unemployment rate was seen in Spain (20.5 per cent) while the lowest rate was recorded in Austria (4.3 per cent) and the Netherlands (4.5 per cent).
    
Europe, which was rattled by the financial crisis in 2008-09, is witnessing a slow economic and labour market recovery.