Eurozone unemployment hits another record high
By Associated Press
May 31, 2013 4:03 AM CDT
A demonstrator shouts slogans during the general strike in Pamplona, northern Spain on Thursday, May 30, 2013. People protest against the austerity measures and the strong economic crisis affecting the country with more than six million unemployed. Reading (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)   (Associated Press)

Unemployment across the 17 European Union countries that use the euro has hit another record high, the latest in a series of ignominious landmarks for the ailing single currency zone.

Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, says Friday that unemployment rose to 12.2 percent in April from the previous record of 12.1 percent the month before. Another 95,000 people joined the ranks of the unemployed, taking the total to 19.38 million.

The figures mask big disparities among countries. While over one in four people are unemployed in Greece and Spain, Germany's rate is down at 5.4 percent.

Eurostat also says inflation in the eurozone rose to 1.4 percent in the year to May from 1.2 percent the previous month. Still, inflation is below the European Central Bank's target.