Seasonally-adjusted unemployment in the 16-member euro zone was 10 per cent in February 2010, up from 9.9 per cent the previous month, European Union statistical office Eurostat said on March 31 2010.

Unemployment in the euro zone was 8.8 per cent in February 2009, according to Eurostat.

Across the 27-member EU, unemployment was 9.6 per cent in February 2010, from 9.5 per cent in January, and against 8.3 per cent in February 2009.

"For the euro area this is the highest rate since August 1998 and for the EU27 since the start of the series in January 2000," Eurostat said.

Eurostat estimates that 23.019 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 15.749 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in February 2010.

Compared with January 2010, the number of unemployed increased by 131 000 in the EU27 and by 61 000 in the euro area.

Compared with February 2009, unemployment went up by 3.139 million in the EU27 and by 1.844 million in the euro area.

Among the member states, unemployment was lowest in the Netherlands (four per cent) and Austria (five per cent), and the highest rates in Latvia (21.7 per cent) and Spain (19 per cent).

Compared with a year ago, all EU member states had higher unemployment.

The smallest increases were in Luxembourg (5.4 per cent to 5.5 per cent), Germany (7.3 per cent to 7.5 per cent), and Belgium (7.7 per cent to eight per cent).

The highest increases were in Latvia (13.2 per cent to 21.7 per cent), Estonia (7.6 per cent to 15.5 per cent between the fourth quarters of 2008 and 2009) and Lithuania (8.1 per cent to 15.8 per cent between the fourth quarters of 2008 and 2009).

Between February 2009 and February 2010, unemployment among men rose from 8.5 per cent to 10 [per cent in the euro area and from 8.2 per cent to 9.8 per cent in the EU27. Among women, unemployment increased from 9.2 per cent to 10 per cent in the euro area and from 8.4 per cent to 9.3 per cent in the EU27.

In February 2010, the youth unemployment rate (under-25s) was 20 per cent in the euro area and 20.6 per cent in the EU27.

In February 2009 it was 18.4 per cent in both zones.

The lowest rate of youth unemployment was in the Netherlands (7.3 per cent), and the highest rates in Latvia (41.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009) and Spain (40.7 per cent).

In the USA, the unemployment rate was 9.7 per cent in February 2010. In Japan it was 4.9 per cent in January 2010.

Separately, Eurostat said on March 31 that euro area annual inflation was expected to be 1.5 per cent for the month, according to a flash estimate. It was 0.9 per cent in February.