The unemployment rate in the euro area stood at ten per cent during August 2011.

New figures released by Eurostat show that joblessness was unchanged when compared with July but 0.2 per cent higher than that recorded in August 2010.

Estimates suggest that 22.785 million men and women in the EU27 were unemployed during the period, more than 15 million of which were in the euro area.

It listed some of the member states that boasted the lowest unemployment rates, with Austria recording 3.7 per cent, the Netherlands 4.4 per cent and Luxembourg at 4.9 per cent.

"Between August 2010 and August 2011, the unemployment rate for males fell from ten per cent to 9.6 per cent in the euro area," said the report.

It added that female unemployment fell from 10.4 per cent to 10.3 per cent in the euro area, while remaining stable across the EU27.

Last month, official figures from Canada indicated that wages in non-farm payroll jobs grew by 2.2 per cent when compared with the same period from lat year.