European jobless rate inches higher amid government support

 The unemployment rate in the 19 countries that use the euro currency inched higher to 7.4 % in May from 7.3% in April as governments used active labor market support programs to cushion the impact of the virus outbreak on workers.

The European Union statistics agency Eurostat published the official figures Thursday.

European governments have held down the rise in unemployment due to the shutdowns through programs that pay part of workers' salaries in return for companies not laying them off due to temporary difficulty that isn't the company's fault.

The U.S. jobess rate has risen to 13.3% in May from 3.5 % in February. New U.S. figures on the jobless rate and first-time unemployment claims were due out later Thursday.