Unemployment reached a new high in October in the European Union, spiking at 11.7 percent in the 17-nation bloc.

Data showed that 173,000 more people joined the jobless lines in October, over the 18.7 million in the previous month – an increase of 0.1 percent.

The dismal news reflects a return to recession – defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. “The level of unemployment in Europe remains unacceptably high,” said Jonathan Todd, a spokesman for the European Commission.

Almost 19 million people were out of work in countries that use the euro as their primary currency.

Europeans in the under-25 age group were those struggling the most to find jobs, according to the statistics issued by the EU Eurostat organization.

Analysts quoted by The Daily Mail warned of the “alarming possibility” of a “lost generation” of young people looming on the horizon.

More than 10 percent of people living in the Eurozone are currently unemployed.

In Spain and Greece, the general unemployment rate tops 25 percent. But for youth in both countries, the figure is far higher, with levels close to 60 percent.

By comparison, the unemployment rate in Israel was 7.1 percent in October, rising from 6.8 percent the previous month, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported.

More than 253,000 Israelis were without jobs, a rise of 0.2 percent over the previous month. However, the number of newly-unemployed people registering with the unemployment service dropped by 0.8 percent, to 12,100.