MW:Euro-area unemployment at 12%, Greece, Spain 26%
By Barbara Kollmeyer
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- The unemployment rate in the euro zone stayed unchanged at 12% in February, compared to a month earlier, according to data from Eurostat released on Tuesday. But that seasonally-adjusted level is well up on 10.9% seen in February 2012. The worst levels were recorded in Greece and Spain, 26.4% and 26.3%, respectively, while the lowest levels were seen in Austria, 4.8% and Germany, 5.4%. The jobless numbers come alongside a sharp drop for factory activity across the 17 countries that share the euro.
