- Ben May, European economist at Capital Economics
Eurozone unemployment rate soared to a fresh high in September, a sign region's debt crisis is deepening. Eurostat, Europe's statistics agency, said the number of people out of job in the eurozone jumped by 146,000 to 18.49 million, pushing unemployment rate to 11.6%, compared to 10.3% a year ago. The highest jobless rate was recorded in Spain where 25.8% of the workforce is out of work, while lowest of 4.4% was recorded in Austria.
"With surveys suggesting that firms are becoming more reluctant to hire, the eurozone unemployment rate looks set to rise further, placing more pressure on struggling households," said Ben May, European economist at Capital Economics.
Also Wednesday, the Eurostat said eurozone's consumer price inflation rose by a seasonally adjusted 2.5% in October, easing from 2.6% reading in the previous month. The reading came in line with analysts' expectations, however, the rate remains above the ECB's target of near but just below 2% level.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.54 per cent to 270.30. Germany's DAX Index erased 0.33 per cent to 7,260.63, while France's CAC 40 Index retreated 0.87 per cent to 3,429.27.
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