Eurozone unemployment stuck at record high of 11.4%

While European leaders have managed to calm financial markets in recent months with promises to cut spending and build a tighter union, they have been unable to halt the rising tide of joblessness.

In August, 34,000 more people lost their jobs in the eurozone, according to data released Monday by the European statistics agency, Eurostat. The unemployment rate — the highest since the euro was created in 1999 — is the same as July's, which was revised up from 11.3 Monday.

Economists note that the very spending cuts that are intended to ease the financial crisis by lowering public debt are what's pushing unemployment higher and threatening the continent with recession. Some experts urge leaders to instead loosen spending to encourage growth.

But many European countries — like Greece, Spain and Italy — have very little room in their budgets for such a stimulus. Greece, for instance, is already relying on a European bailout to pay its bills — and its rescue creditors are pushing for more cuts, not spending.

Greece and Spain have the highest unemployment rates in the eurozone, around 25 percent for both.

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