The picture for the whole 27-nation EU is only marginally brighter, with unemployment up to 8.6%. Men are particularly badly affected, according to the figures, which show 20.825 million males registered as unemployed compared with 14.579 million women.
There are considerable differences in jobless rates across Europe, ranging from 3% in the Netherlands to 18.1% in Spain.
Analysts expect unemployment to continue to rise as the recession deepens. "Although survey measures of hiring intentions have ticked up lately, they still point to very sharp falls in employment to come, suggesting that the labour market downturn has much further to run," Jennifer McKeown, an economist at Capital Economics, told the Guardian newspaper.
The European Commission is now forecasting the highest unemployment levels since the end of the Second World War, with 8.5 million Europeans expected to lose their jobs by 2010.
In a briefing note released in response to the latest figures, Martin van Vliet, an economist at ING, warned the jobless rate could easily climb to 12% late next year or early 2011.
Eurostat also estimates that inflation in countries using the euro will flatline at 0% for May 2009, down from 0.6% in April. This may provide something of a silver lining for hard-pressed consumers, but experts are divided over whether serious deflation is likely.
"The figure shows that the risk of deflation in the euro area is not negligible," said Juergen Michels, an economist at Citigroup. However, European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia has played down deflation risks.
Perhaps surprisingly, consumer confidence grew in the UK in May, leading some to suggest that measures to stabilise the economy there may be taking effect.
However, bad news continues to flow in from elsewhere, with Air France announcing thousands of fresh job cuts and Munich-based car-maker Bayerische Motoren Werke AG saying it was too early to say when demand would return to the auto industry.
European Central Bank Vice-President Lucas Papademos said last week that the available information indicates a gradual recovery during 2010.
