Euro zone unemployment unchanged in June at 12.1%

Unemployment in the euro zone remained unchanged from the previous month in June, at 12.1 percent, according to the latest data from statistics agency Eurostat. In the European Union (EU) as a whole, the unemployment rate was 10.9 percent in June, down from 11 percent in May.

 Eurostat estimates that 26.4 million men and women in the EU, of whom 19.266 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in June 2013. The jobless rate rose in 17 member states and fell only in ten. 

The lowest unemployment rates were in Austria, Germany and Luxembourg while the highest remained in Greece (26.9 percent) and Spain (at 26.3 percent). Youth unemployment remained high with 5.51 million people under 25 unemployed in the EU, of whom 3.5 million were in the euro area. The youth jobless rate had increased in the euro area from June 2012.