Factories in the 16 nations sharing the euro saw demand slump further in January in the face of a dire recession.
New industrial orders fell 3.4% in January over December, bringing the drop over 12 months to 34.1%, the European Union's Eurostat data agency said.
Economists had expected orders would fall 5.0% over one month and 25% over one year.
The January slump, marking the sixth-straight month of decline, came after orders plunged 8.0% in December over one month and 23.8% over one year, Eurostat said, revising the data deeper into negative territory.
In the 27-nation European Union, new industrial orders fell 2.2% in January and 30.7% over 12 months.
Slovakia adopted the euro at the start of the year, swelling the ranks of the euro zone to 16 members.
