BRUSSELS, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- The unemployment rate in the 17-member eurozone rose to a record 11.8 percent in November, Eurostat said Tuesday.
The official data office for the European Union said the larger, 27-member European Union posted an unemployment rate of 10.7 percent in the month, unchanged from October.
Although the uptick from October was marginal, Eurostat said unemployment rates in both regions had risen "markedly compared with November 2011." Unemployment in the eurozone was at 10.6 percent a year earlier, when EU unemployment stood at 10 percent.
The data agency said 26 million workers in the EU, including 18.8 million in the eurozone, were unemployed in November -- up from 25.9 million and 18.7 million, respectively, in October.
Youth have been especially hard hit by the recession in Europe with an unemployment rate of 23.7 percent in the EU and 24.4 percent in the eurozone. Germany had the lowest youth unemployment rate in the EU, 8.1 percent, followed by Austria at 9 percent and the Netherlands at 9.7 percent.
Greece and Spain have the two highest unemployment rates for youth at 57.6 percent and 56.5 percent, respectively -- the figure for Greece valid for September 2012.
The highest unemployment rate for all ages in the EU is Spain's 26.6 percent.
The lowest unemployment rate in the EU among reporting countries was posted by Austria at 4.5 percent.
