For the second month running, Malta is still in the fourth lowest unemployment position in the Eurozone, Eurostat said today.Earlier, Malta was in the third lowest place but has been overtaken in the stakes by the Czech Republic which has the same unemployment figure as Malta but is placed ahead of Malta by Eurostat - 5.8%.

The eurozone unemployment rate fell unexpectedly to 11.4% in December from 11.5% in November. It was the lowest in more than two years, since August 2012.

Economists were expecting no change to the rate as the region continues to struggle with a sluggish economy and high levels of debt in some countries.

Large disparities between countries remain. The highest rates are in Greece at 25.8% (October figure) and Spain at 23.7%.

The lowest rates are in Germany, at 4.8%, and Austria, at 4.9%.

The number of unemployed people in the eurozone was 18.1m in December.