Almost 400,000 people lost their jobs in the European Union in April, raising the unemployment rate in the 27-country alliance by 0.2 percentage points after most European countries imposed coronavirus containment measures.
The European Union's official statistics agency reported that unemployment stood at 6.6% in April, up from 6.4% in March 2020.
Luxembourg-based Eurostat saw a similar rate of increase in the Eurozone currency area - a 19-country group - where joblessness rose to 7.3% in April, a 0.2 percentage point increase from 7.1% recorded in March.
The Eurozone has seen a long period of falling unemployment following a peak of more than 12% in 2012, though the number of people out of work differs greatly from country to country. Greece, Italy and Spain all face stubborn labour market issues, particularly affecting younger people.