Eurozone data highlight jobless woes in Greece, Spain

New data show the Eurozone crisis’ increasing toll on the unemployed, particularly on young workers in Greece and Spain.

The youth unemployment rate was worst in the monetary bloc’s most financially troubled countries: 57% in Greece and 56% in Spain, according to data released by the official Eurostat agency Friday.

In October, 3.6 million workers under the age of 25 were unemployed, up 350,000 from a year ago.

The overall unemployment rate in the 17-member bloc rose to 11.7%, from 11.6% in September.

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The labor market data are a reminder of deep economic problems facing the Eurozone as it continues to suffer from a protracted sovereign debt crisis and a double-dip recession.

Overall unemployment rates were also worse in Greece (25%) and Spain (26%), according to Eurostat, which relied on August data from Greece.

Austria, Luxembourg, Germany and the Netherlands all had the lowest unemployment rates, ranging from 4.3% to 5.5%.

By contrast, the U.S. unemployment rate stood at 7.9% in October. The U.S. Department of Labor is set to release November’s unemployment report Dec. 7.

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