Eurozone unemployment rate falls to decade-plus low

BRUSSELS – Official figures show that unemployment across the 19-member eurozone at its lowest rate since the global financial crisis.

Eurostat said Friday that the jobless rate across the bloc fell to 7.8 per cent in January, unchanged from the December rate, which was downwardly revised from the previous 7.9 per cent. The rate is the lowest since October 2008.

The agency said 23,000 people left the ranks of the unemployed during the month, taking the total down to 12.85 million.

Separately, Eurostat found that inflation edged higher during February as a result of a slight pick-up in energy costs. Consumer prices rose by 1.5 per cent from the year before, against 1.4 per cent in January.

The core rate, which strips out volatile items such as energy, fell though, to 1 per cent from 1.1 per cent.