BRUSSELS, May 2 (UPI) -- The unemployment rate in the 17-member eurozone rose to a record 10.9 percent in March, the European Union's data office said Wednesday.
The unemployment rate in the 17-countries that share the euro as currency rose for the second consecutive month, hitting the highest level since the eurozone was created in January 1999.
For the 27-member European Union, the unemployment rate, also up for two consecutive months, hit 10.2 in March, the statistics agency said.
Eurostat said 24.77 million men and women in the EU were without work, 17.36 million of whom live in the eurozone.
Compared to February, the number of unemployed has risen by 193,000 in the European Union and by 169,000 in the eurozone. Compared with March 2011, the number of unemployed is up by 2.12 million and 1.73 million, respectively.
The countries with the lowest unemployment rates in the region are Austria at 4 percent, the Netherlands at 5 percent, Luxembourg at 5.2 percent and Germany at 5.6 percent.
The highest unemployment rate in the EU is in Spain with a rate of 24.1 percent. In Greece, the rate rose in the month from 21 percent to 21.7 percent.
In eight European countries, the unemployment rate has dropped in the past 12 months. It increased in 19 states, Eurostat said.
