Unemployment in eurozone reaches highest on record

Unemployment in the eurozone reached the highest on record as a deepening economic slump and budget cuts prompted companies from Spain to Italy to reduce their workforces.

The jobless rate in the 17-nation eurozone was at 11% in April and March, the EU’s statistics office in Luxembourg said yesterday.

That is the highest since the data series started in 1995. The March figure was revised higher to 11% from 10.9% estimated earlier.