The seasonally-adjusted jobless rate in the 16-nation euro zone soared in April to a nine-year high because of the financial and economic crisis, official data released Tuesday showed.

The unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent in April from 8.9 percent in March in the euro zone, the highest since September 1999, according to European Union's Eurostat statistics agency.

Hike was out of the expectations of experts, who had predicted that the rate would be 9.1 percent in April.

Jobless rate a year ago was 7.3 percent.

In the 27-nation European Union, unemployment rate rose to 8.6 percent in April from March's 8.4 percent, the highest level since January 2006, said the Eurostat. It was 6.8 percent in April 2008.

Eurostat estimated that 20.825 million men and women in the EU, of which 14.579 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in April.

Compared with March, the number of persons unemployed increased by 556, 000 in the EU and by 396, 000 in the euro area.

Compared with April 2008, unemployment went up by 4.653 million in the EU and by 3.100 million in the euro zone, said the agency.

The latest data is likely to push the European Central Bank to further loosen monetary policy at its next policy meeting on Thursday, though the bank is expect to keep its key interest rate unchanged at a record low of 1.0 percent.

The European Commission, executive arm of the EU, revised up in May its forecast for this year's euro-zone unemployment to 9.9 percent from 9.3 percent it forecast in January, saying that the rate is expected to rise further to 11.5 percent next year.

High unemployment could further dampen consumer spending and delay economic recovery in the euro zone.

In EU member states, Spain was on the top of the list as it recorded a jobless rate of 18.1 percent in April due to a dire housing sector, followed by Latvia with 17.4 percent and Lithuania with 16.8 percent.

The lowest unemployment rate was seen in the Netherlands with 3.0 percent, followed by Austria at 4.2 percent, said the Eurostat.

(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2009)