An estimated 15.6 million men and women were unemployed in the 17-nation single currency area in May, an increase of 18,000 from May, according to Eurostat data agency.

The eurozone's seasonally adjusted jobless rate dropped under the 10 percent mark in March and has settled at 9.9 percent since. A year earlier it stood at 10.2 percent.

The unemployment rate of the wider 27-nation European Union, which includes Britain and Poland, was also unchanged at 9.4 percent in June, compared with 9.7 percent a year earlier.

About 22.473 million people were unemployed in the EU in June, 38,000 fewer than in May.

Spain still had the highest unemployment rate in the eurozone in May at 21 percent, while the lowest was recorded in Austria at 4 percent.

Over a year, unemployment fell in 19 EU nations, increased in seven and remained stable in Luxembourg.

Youth unemployment stood at 20.3 percent in the euro area and 20.5 percent in the EU 27, ranging from the lowest rate in the Netherlands, at 7.1 percent, to the highest rate of 45.7 percent, recorded in Spain.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011