The unemployment rate in Europe is at its highest for over a decade as companies continue to shed jobs, according to the European Union statistics office.

Unemployment in the 16-nation euro area was 9.8 percent in October, the highest rate since December 1998. At 19.3 percent, Spain had the highest unemployment rate in October among the 16 countries using the euro. Austria and the Netherlands had the lowest jobless rates with 4.7 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively. The number of unemployed people in the euro region rose by 134,000 to 15.57 million in October, the statistics office said.

However, there are positive signs with Europe’s service and manufacturing industries expanding at the fastest pace in two years in November, suggesting the economy is gathering strength.