Unemployment across the 17 countries that use the euro remained at its record high rate of 11.4 percent in August, official data showed Monday, renewing concerns that efforts to slash debts have sacrificed jobs.

In August, 34,000 more people lost their jobs in the Eurozone, according to data released Monday by the European statistics agency, Eurostat.

Youth joblessness also spiked higher in August to 22.8 percent in the euro area, reaching 3.4 million, compared to 20.7 percent in the same month last year. In Greece and Spain, over half of under-25s were out of work, the latest figures showed. In the United Kingdom, youth unemployment stands at 21 percent.

The unemployment statistics came as Eurozone manufacturing put in its worst quarterly performance in three years --when major economies were steeped in the worst recession since World War II.

"EU institutions and governments, businesses and social partners at all levels need to do all they can to avoid a lost generation, which would be an economic and social disaster," said Jonathan Todd, European Commission spokesperson.

Economists note that the very spending cuts that are intended to ease the financial crisis by lowering public debt are what's pushing unemployment higher and threatening the continent with recession. Some experts urge leaders to instead loosen spending to encourage growth.

Many European countries have very little room in their budgets for such a stimulus. Greece, for instance, is already relying on a European bailout to pay its bills - and its rescue creditors are pushing for more cuts, not less.

Spain, meanwhile, has just unveiled a €40 billion program of spending cuts and reforms designed to convince international lenders and investors that it can keep a control of its deficit.

Other economists say that the labor market reforms these countries are pushing through will eventually get them back on the path to economic growth. The question is merely how bad it will get before that happens - and whether the governments will be able to stay the course in the face of widespread popular protests.

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