New data released by the European Union show that the unemployment rate in the eurozone hit a record high of 11.1 percent in May. According to EU's statistics office Eurostat, more than 17.5 million Europeans were without a job in the single currency area in May. The figures indicated that more than 3.4 million of European youngsters under the age of 25 were out of work in the same month, an increase of 254,000 from a year earlier. Job losses keep climbing as the eurozone's worsening debt crisis pushes businesses to cut staff to contain their financial problems. Eurostat data agency said that around 17.4 million people -- or 11 percent of the working population -- were jobless in the 17-nation eurozone in April. The jobless rate in the wider 27-nation European Union also increased by 0.01 percent to 10.3 in May from 10.2 in April. On Wednesday, the Council of Europe expressed serious concerns over the rising unemployment rate among the young people across the recession-bound continent. The council warned that the youth unemployment rate in Europe has reached an alarming level following the economic crisis in the European Union. Various EU member states have been struggling with deep economic stagnancy since the bloc's financial crisis began roughly five years ago. As a result, the member-states started implementing tough austerity measure in a bid to prevent facing double-dip recessions, according to Press TV. The austerity measures have only resulted in growing anger among the most affected people, sacked or low-income workers and students.
