An initial estimate shows that the annual rate of inflation in the euro zone crept up to 1.5% in April from 1.4% in March.
April's figure, if confirmed, would be the highest since December 2008. The euro zone inflation rate has risen almost continuously since last November as the area emerges from the worst recession since the 1930s.
The latest increase moves the figures closer to the European Central Bank's core economic target of inflation at close to but below 2%.
Separate figures from the Eurostat agency show that the euro zone unemployment rate remained at a record high 10% in March, with more than 100,000 more people joining the jobless ranks.
The jobless rate was unchanged from February, running at the highest level since the euro came into being in 1999. Almost 1.4 million more people are now out of work compared with the same month last year.
