September 01, 2007	Saturday	Sha’aban 18, 1428

BRUSSELS, Aug 31: Unemployment in the 13 nations sharing the euro held steady in July at a record low of 6.9 per cent, official EU figures showed on Friday.

The rate, which the European Union’s Eurostat data agency adjusted to take seasonal variations into account, is the lowest on Eurostat’s books going back to 1993.

It marked a sharp improvement from July 2006 when the percentage of jobseekers in the eurozone accounted for 7.8 per cent of the workforce.

Long a major headache for eurozone politicians, unemployment has gradually eased since peaking at 8.9 per cent at the end of 2004, as the economy gathers pace.

In the 27-nation EU as a whole, unemployment eased to 6.8 per cent in July from 6.9 per cent in June and 7.9 per cent in July 2006.—AFP