Unemployment in the eurozone (the countries using the common currency) ticked up in October to a new record, according to seasonally adjusted data compiled by statistics agency Eurostat, advancing to 11.7% from September's 11.6%. In the European Union's 27 member states, the indicator rose to a seasonally adjusted rate of 10.7% from 10.6% the previous month.
Both October rates are substantially higher than they were in the same month of 2011. For the EU it was 9.9% then, while the eurozone recorded 10.4%.
Over that one-year span, 16 EU countries saw an increase in unemployment, nine experienced a decrease, and two remained stable.
Countries with the lowest jobless rates this past October were Austria, with 4.3%, Luxembourg, at 5.1%, and Denmark, at 5.4%. The highest rates were recorded by Spain (26.2%), Greece (25.4%), and Portugal (16.3%).
