Luxembourg - Unemployment in the eurozone remained steady at 7.5 per cent in July, according to data released on Friday by the European Union's statistics agency, Eurostat.

The seasonally adjusted figure - unchanged since June - marks the lowest rate recorded in the 19-member currency bloc since July 2008, according to Eurostat.

In July, 12.3 million people were out of work across the eurozone, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous month.

However, youth unemployment rose 0.1 percentage point to 15.6 per cent.

The highest levels of joblessness among young people in the eurozone were recorded in Greece (39.6 per cent in the first quarter), Spain (32.1 per cent in July) and Italy (28.9 per cent).

The EU's lowest overall unemployment rate was recorded in the Czech Republic at 2.1 per cent. Within the eurozone, the lowest figure was in Germany at 3 per cent.

Across the 28-member EU, unemployment remained unchanged in July at 6.3 per cent for the third consecutive month, despite an increase of 27,000 jobseekers.

The EU's jobless rate is the lowest since Eurostat started compiling monthly data in January 2000, the agency said.

 Percentage of unemployed for at least 24 months in 2018