Jobless numbers across the 17-nation eurozone hit a record 18 million in July, the EU statistics agency said on Friday.
An additional 88,000 people joined the ranks of the unemployed throughout July, although upwardly-revised June data meant that the unemployment rate was unchanged at 11.3%, Eurostat said.
The 18,002,000 headline jobless figure was the highest since records began in 1995, it added.
With an estimated 25.254 million unemployed across the full European Union, which also includes non-euro heavyweights Britain and Poland, the figures add to concerns over a plunge back into recession for the eurozone and its nearest neighbours.
At 5.5%, the unemployment rate was much lower in powerhouse Germany, as well as the neighbouring economies of Austria and the Netherlands, but more than one in four are still out of work in Spain.
Annual increases in Spain and Greece were easily the highest, and both countries, labouring under sovereign and banking debt crises, logged jobless rates among the key under-25s age-group of more than 50%.