According to reports released by Eurostat yesterday, unemployment rates in Europe have hit figure of 12% while the same in the US is recorded to be 7.7%. The findings have been deemed unacceptable by Laszlo Andor, the Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner.

The latest data was published by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, which showed that it has happened for the first time that unemployment in eurozone has reported such a high levels. The figure has risen by almost 1.1% in February this year in comparison to last year when it was found to be 10.9%.

The unemployment rate in Japan was observed to be 4.2% in January 2013. The data excludes the calculations for Greece. The job seekers rose to 19,071 million in February, the number 2 million greater than that observed in the last year.

The country with highest level of unemployment was found to be Spain with figures as high as 26.3% in comparison to 23.9% in 2012. Second worst in the chart was Portugal with 17.5% followed by Ireland with 14.2%.

"Such unacceptably high levels of unemployment are a tragedy for Europe and a signal of how serious a crisis some eurozone countries are now in", said Chantal Hugues, a spokesperson for Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Laszlo Andor.