The unemployment rate in the 12 nations sharing the euro slipped in October a five-and-a-half year low of to 7.7 percent from 7.8 percent in September, the EU's Eurostat data agency said Friday.

The rate, which the EU's Eurostat data agency adjusted to take seasonal variations into account, was down sharply from the 8.5 percent rate recorded in in October 2005.

The October figure was also the lowest April 2001 when Eurostat also registered a rate of 7.7 percent, during an economic upswing fuelled by the high-tech boom.

Eurostat's records going back to the early 1990s do not record a lower reading for eurozone unemployment, an official said.

Since peaking at 8.9 percent during an extended period ending in September 2004, unemployment in the eurozone has steadily declined as the economy gathers pace.

In the 25-nation EU as a whole, unemployment was unchanged in October from September at 7.9 percent. Eurostat revised the September figure down after having originally reported a rate of 8.0 percent.

"Further evidence of an improving eurozone labour market is very welcome good news, as it will hopefully provide significant support to consumer spending," said economist Howard Archer with consultancy Global Insight.

Looking ahead, he said that "a hefty fall in German unemployment in November boosts hopes that consumer spending there will not be hugely hit by January's sales tax increase."

The German jobless total fell below four million for the first time in four years in November, as the ongoing recovery in the eurozone's biggest economy continued to feed through into the labour market, official data showed on Thursday.