BRUSSELS, Belgium (PNN) - October 1, 2012 - Euro zone unemployment has hit a record high, revealing further evidence of a two-speed Europe as increasing numbers of young people in Spain, Greece and Italy desperately seek work while Germany's jobless rate continues to fall.

The euro zone unemployment rate was 11.4% in August, up from 10.2% last year. Data from the EU statistics agency Eurostat estimated that 25.5 million men and women were out of work over the period, 18.2 million of whom were in the euro zone.

Compared with the previous month the number of unemployed people in the EU rose by 49,000 and in the euro zone by 34,000.

The overall unemployment rate in Spain has reached 25.1%, while the latest data from Greece for June shows a figure of 24.4%. The outlook is far more optimistic in Germany, however, where just 5.5% of people are out of work.

Youth unemployment in the euro zone is stable at 22.8%, down slightly from 22.9% during July, but up from 20.7% year-on-year.