Eurozone unemployment rate hits nine-year low in November

BRUSSELS, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The eurozone unemployment rate fell in November to its lowest level in nearly nine years, highlighting the further pickup of the 19-country bloc's economy at the end of 2017.

The unemployment rate in the eurozone was 8.7 percent in November 2017, down from 8.8 percent in the previous month and from 9.8 percent in November 2016, the lowest rate since January 2009, data from Eurostat, the European Union's statistics agency showed on Tuesday.

Compared with October 2017, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 107,000 in the eurozone. At a national level, most member states saw a decline in their unemployment rates.

But there are still big disparities among European countries with

"Encouragingly, though,

The further fall in the eurozone unemployment rate in November marked the fourth consecutive decline, the unemployment rate is likely to fall further.