Eurozone unemployment hits record high in September

Unemployment in the 17-nation eurozone reached a new high in September. Statistical data reveals that harsh austerity measures in place in much of the bloc have hampered growth and job creation incentives. Joblessness across the eurozone increased to a record seasonally-adjusted high in September, the European statistics agency, Eurostat, reported on Wednesday. It put the month's unemployment rate in the 17-member bloc at 11.6 percent, which means another 146,000 people joined the jobless ranks in September, bringing the area's total to 18.5 million people. That number included almost 3.5 million people under the age of 25, marking a youth unemployment rate of 23.3 percent. Greece and Spain once again suffered most from a continuously shaky labor market, with jobless rates of over 25 percent. Energy costs up again By contrast, the lowest rates were recorded in Austria (4.4 percent), followed by Luxembourg, Germany and the Netherlands. In the broader 27-member European Union, the employment situation remained stable at a seasonally-adjusted 10.6 percent for September, meaning that almost 26 million people continued to be out of work. Eurostat on Wednesday also published new inflation figures for October, announcing that price hikes in the eurozone eased to 2.5 percent as the slowing economy removed some of the earlier pressures. Nonetheless, energy prices remained the main driver of inflation. They soared by another 7.8 percent in the month under revision.