BRUSSELS, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The unemployment rate of the euro zone hit a record high of 10.1 percent in September, the European Union's (EU) statistical bureau Eurostat said on Friday.

It was further up from 10 percent in the previous month and higher than 9.8 percent registered in September 2009.

For the 27-nation EU, the jobless rate remained stable for the seventh consecutive month at 9.6 percent in September. It was 9.3 percent a year ago.

Eurostat estimated that 23.109 million men and women in the EU, of whom 15.917 million were in the euro zone, were unemployed in September.

Compared with August, the number of persons unemployed increased by 71,000 in the EU and by 67,000 in the euro zone. Compared with September 2009, unemployment rose by 0.656 million in the EU and by 0.424 million in the euro zone.

Among the member states, the lowest jobless rate was recorded in the Netherlands, which was 4.4 percent. The highest rate was seen in Spain, which was 20.8 percent in September.