A couple and a child wearing a Spanish soccer jersey pass by a shop with a discount sale sign and samples of postcards including one with Bankia bank buildings' picture, top, on the day of the Euro 2012 soccer final match in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, July 1, 2012. Bankia is one of several big banks that will need billions in rescue loans. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
A couple and a child wearing a Spanish soccer jersey pass by a shop with a discount sale sign and samples of postcards including one with Bankia bank buildings' picture, top, on the day of the Euro 2012 soccer final match in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, July 1, 2012. Bankia is one of several big banks that will need billions in rescue loans. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
BRUSSELS (AP) ? Official figures show that unemployment in the 17 country euro currency bloc hit another record in May as the continent continued to be buffeted by its debt crisis.
Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, said Monday that unemployment rose to 11.1 percent in May from 11 percent the previous month. That's the highest rate since the euro was launched in 1999.
Unemployment has been edging higher for over a year now as concerns over the debt crisis have weighed on economic activity. The highest unemployment rate was recorded in Spain, where nearly one in four people are out of work, closely followed by Greece.
In total, 17.6 million people were out of work in the eurozone in May, 1.8 million higher than the year before.
Associated Press