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Eurozone unemployment rate at 12-year high

Unemployed people queue outside an unemployment registry office in Portugal

Unemployment is a big problem in several eurozone countries

The eurozone's unemployment rate hit 10.1% in October as jobless rates rose in

Italy, inched down in France and Germany, and remained stable in Spain.

The rate was the highest since July 1998, said EU agency Eurostat.

The number of people without a job rose by 80,000 in October to 15.95 million

people, and by 84,000 people to 23.15 million in the 27-state European Union.

Separate figures showed that inflation in the 16-nation eurozone remained

unchanged at 1.9% in November.

In the medium term, the European Central Bank wants to keep inflation below,

but close to, 2%.

With inflation close to this target figure, analysts expect the bank to keep

its main interest rate at 1%.

"The ECB is likely to be quite pleased to see eurozone consumer price inflation

stabilising at 1.9% in November," said economist Howard Archer at Global

Insight.

"Although this is the highest level for two years, it is bang in line with the

ECB's target level and there continues to be little evidence of any significant

pick up in underlying price pressures."

German recovery

The rise in the eurozone unemployment rate was mainly due to an increase in the

jobless rate in Italy, the bloc's third-biggest economy, to 8.6% from 8.3%.

The second biggest economy, France, saw its jobless rate edge down to 9.8% from

9.9%.

Spain's unemployment rate, where the global economic crisis has taken a big

toll on jobs, remained unchanged at 20.7%.

Earlier, Germany had published separate figures showing its unemployment data

for November.

It said the jobless total had fallen by 14,000 to 2.931 million, from 2.945

million in October - which was the first time the total had been below three

million for two years.

Germany suffered its worst post-war recession in 2009, with output contracting

almost 5%.

However, Europe's biggest economy has seen a strong recovery this year thanks

to strong demand for its exports.

"The labour market is profiting from good economic conditions," said German

labour office head Frank-Juergen Weise in a statement.

"Unemployment is falling, employment... is rising and demand for workers is

increasing."

A government scheme that encouraged firms to shift employees to part-time work

rather than lay them off has helped to keep unemployment down.