(BRUSSELS) - Unemployment in the 15 nations sharing the euro held steady in March for the third month running at a record low of 7.1 percent of the workforce, according to official EU data released Wednesday.

The rate, which the European Union's Eurostat data agency adjusted to take seasonal variations into account, is the lowest going back to 1993.

Although the eurozone economy has slowed over the past year, unemployment has maintained a gradual decline in the bloc. The jobless rate was down from 7.5 percent in March 2007.

Long a major headache for eurozone politicians, unemployment in the eurozone has gradually eased in recent years since peaking at 9.1 percent in March 2005.

In the 27-nation EU as a whole, the unemployment rate remained unchanged in March compared to February at 6.7 percent, and was down from 7.3 percent in March 2007.

Eurostat estimated that 15.99 million workers were without a job throughout the EU, including 10.93 million in the eurozone.

Further details - Eurostat

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