Eurozone unemployment holds at seven-year low in November

Berlin (dpa) - Unemployment in the eurozone remained unchanged for the second consecutive month for November, at a seven-year low of 9.8 per cent, adding to signs that the 19-member currency bloc remained on a modest economic growth path.The numbers out of work in the eurozone stood at about 15.9 million in November, after jobless queues in the region fell by 15,000, with almost all member states reporting drops in unemployment, the European Union‘s statistics office Eurostat stated.Unemployment in the eurozone now stands at its lowest level since July 2009. Greece continued to record the highest unemployment rate in the eurozone, with its jobless rate slipping slightly to 23.1 per cent in September, the latest data for the debt-hit nation.Despite signs of a solid economic pickup in Spain, unemployment in the eurozone‘s fourth-biggest economy held for the second month in a row at 19.2 per cent in November, Eurostat said.At 4.1 per cent, Germany enjoyed Europe‘s lowest unemployment rate. Estonia, Cyprus and Italy bucked the general trend across the eurozone to post rises in their jobless rates.November unemployment in Italy edged up to 11.9 per cent - a rise of 0.2 points against the previous month, according to the Istat national statistics bureau.Youth unemployment in Italy rose to 39.4 per cent, representing a 1.8-percentage-point increase compared to October for those aged between 15 and 24.Unemployment in the 28-member European Union also declined, nudging down to 8.3 per cent - its lowest level since February 2009, Eurostat said. About 20.4 million people are now without jobs in the EU, down by 41,000 compared with October.