SPAIN has ended 2009 with the highest jobless rate in the Eurozone.

Statistics released yesterday by Eurostat reveal that the unemployment rate went up in the Eurozone in November by 10 per cent.

In Spain, jobseekers account for 19.4 per cent of the population.

This is the highest it has been since August 1998, Eurostat reports.

Earlier in 2009, Spain’s government insisted that it would not let the jobless rate rise to 20 per cent.

But at present, in the EU as a whole – including those member states that do not use the euro as currency – Spain is only beaten by Latvia, whose unemployment figures stand at 22.3 per cent.

There are currently 15.71 million people in the Eurozone out of work, says Eurostat.

They say that unemployment among the under-25s in Spain is the most crucial figure, representing 43.8 per cent of their age-group.

A total of 19.5 per cent of men in Spain and 19.2 per cent of women who are of working age are currently out of a job.