Eurozone’s record unemployment of 11.3 per cent in July shows tough task ahead for leaders

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FILE - In this June 7, 2012 file photo, a homeless person sleeps in the doorway of a bank in Madrid. The Spanish government on Friday Aug. 31, 2012 is expected to approve a law setting up a \'bad bank\' that will pool many of the property-related toxic assets held by its ailing banks. The Cabinet may also approve a decree giving its central bank more power to intervene faster in banks deemed to be shaky. (AP Photo/Paul White, File)

BRUSSELS – Official figures show that the unemployment rate across the 17 countries that use the euro remained at a record high of 11.3 per cent in July, the same as in June but up 1.2 points from a year earlier.

The data published Friday by the European Union’s statistical agency, Eurostat, show the financial crisis continues to hurt the economy, with the jobless rate continuing to creep higher to record levels in Spain and Greece.

Even though the eurozone’s overall percentage remained stable, Eurostat said some 88,000 more people were without a job in July, for a total of 18 million.

The 11.3 per cent unemployment rate is the highest since the euro was formed in 1999.

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