The unemployment rate in the 12-nation euro zone edged up in December, to 8.9% compared to 8.8% in November, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said today.
The rate in the zone which shares Europe's single currency was unchanged compared with December 2003.
In the whole 25-member European Union, unemployment was stable compared with November at 8.9%, but was down from 9.1% in December 2003.
The highest rate was in Poland at 18.3%, followed by Slovakia at 16.9%, Spain at 10.4% and Germany at 10%. The lowest rates were in Ireland (4.3%), Luxembourg (4.4%) and Austria (4.5%).
