(BRUSSELS) - The unemployment rate in the 15 countries sharing the euro held steady in June from May at 7.3 percent, according to the European Union's Eurostat data agency on Thursday.

Eurostat had originally reported that unemployment in the bloc was at 7.2 percent in May, but revised the figure up in a second estimate after several member states updated their calculations.

Long the bane of eurozone politicians, unemployment has been gradually falling in recent years from a peak of 9.1 percent in March 2005 although the decline has largely stalled over the last year as the economy lost pace.

The June jobless rate was down from 7.4 percent in June 2007.

In the 27-nation EU as a whole, the unemployment rate was also steady in June compared to May at 6.8 percent, but was down from 7.1 percent in June 2007.

Eurostat estimated that 16.32 million workers were without a job in June throughout the EU, including 11.35 million in the eurozone.

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