Unemployment in the Eurozone hit a high of 12% in February. Eurostat says the rate has risen markedly when compared with February 2012 when it stood at just 10.9%.

It estimates that some 19 million people were jobless in the Euro area back in February.

The lowest unemployment rates were seen in

• Austria (4.8%)
• Germany (5.4%)
• Luxembourg (5.5%) 
• The Netherlands (6.2%)

While the highest were found in

• Greece (26.4% in December 2012)
• Spain (26.3%)
• Portugal (17.5%)

Compared with a year ago Eurostat says the unemployment rate increased in 19 Member States and fell in 8.

The highest increases were registered in Greece, Cyprus, Portugal and Spain while the largest decreases were 
found in Latvia, Estonia and Ireland (from 15.1% to 14.2%).

Between February 2012 and February 2013 the unemployment rate for males increased from 10.7% to 11.9% and the female unemployment rate rose from 11.2% to 12.0% In February, 3.5 million people aged under 25 were unemployed in the region.