Recession in the eurozone has pushed unemployment in the region up to a record 11.7% in October.
Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office, has said that 18.7 million people were out of work across the eurozone last month.
The increase from the previous month's 11.6% was anticipated in light of the currency bloc’s return to recession in the third quarter.
Spain and Greece have the region's highest unemployment rates - both over 25%, with youth unemployment levels heading towards 60%.
Figures released by the Central Statistics Office yesterday show that Ireland's unemployment rate was 14.8% in the three months from July to September.
