The unemployment rate in the eurozone remained at a record high of 11.3% in July.

Official figures from Eurostat showed that 88,000 more people were without a job in July, bringing the total to 18 million.

The latest unemployment rate, which is 1.2% higher than a year earlier, is the highest level since the euro was formed in 1999.

Ireland's unemployment rate is 14.9%, which is the fifth highest in the EU.

In Spain, the jobless figure rose by another 0.2% to reach 25.1%, the highest in the eurozone.

For Greece, the latest data available was for May, which saw a 0.5% increase to 23.1%. A year earlier, it was 16.8%.

Youth unemployment was even worse. In Spain it stood at 52.9% for people under 25, while in Greece it was 53.8%.

Germany, the continent's biggest economy, had an unemployment rate of 5.5%. Neighbouring Austria had the lowest rate, at 4.5%.