Unemployment up in eurozone for first time since April

Unemployment in the euro area rose marginally in October for the first time in 6 months, according to a report by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rose to 10.1 percent in October in the euro area, after remaining constant at 10.0 percent since April this year.

However, unemployment remained constant at 9.6 percent in the EU27.

Netherlands, Austria and Luxembourg continued to see some of the lowest unemployment rates in the euro area. Spain continued to see the highest unemployment rate at 20.7 percent, while Latvia followed close with a third-quarter unemployment rate of 19.4 percent.

The number of people employed continued to rise in Germany, which reported an unemployment rate of 6.7 percent, a drop from 7.5 percent in the previous month.

Separately, Germany said about 40.9 million people were employed during October, a new record since the German reunification. Germany was just above Malta, Luxemburg, Austria and Netherlands in its unemployment rate in September.

The euro area expects inflation to continue to be flat at 1.9 percent in November, according to a flash estimate issued by Eurostat.