Unemployment in the euro zone rose to a record 11.7 per cent in October.

Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office, says 18.7 million people were out of work across the 17 EU countries that use the euro.

The increase from the previous month's 11.6 per cent was anticipated in light of the eurozone's return to recession in the third quarter.

Spain and Greece have the region's highest unemployment rates - both over 25 per cent, with youth unemployment levels heading towards 60 per cent.

Eurostat also says that inflation in the eurozone fell by more than anticipated to 2.2 per cent in November.

However, it is still above the European Central Bank's target of keeping price rises at just below 2 per cent.