Official figures show that unemployment across the 19-country eurozone fell in December for the 15th month running to its lowest level in a little more than four years.

Statistics agency Eurostat said Tuesday the number out of work decreased by 49,000 to a total of 16.5 million. The last time unemployment was lower was October 2011.

A spokesman for Eurostat said the run of declines was the longest the eurozone has experienced since a 25-month stretch that ended in November 2007.

As a result, the unemployment rate fell from 10.5 percent to 10.4 percent, its lowest since September 2011.

The overall numbers continue to mask big disparities. While Germany's unemployment rate stands at 4.5 percent, according to Eurostat, Greece and Spain remain lumbered by jobless rates above 20 percent.

Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates in December 2015 were recorded in the Czech Republic and Germany (both 4.5%), Malta and the United Kingdom (both 5.1%, October data for the UK). The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (24.5% in October 2015) and Spain (20.8%).

Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate in December 2015 fell in twenty-three Member States, remained stable in Estonia and increased in four. The largest decreases were registered in Spain (from 23.6% to 20.8%), Slovakia (from 12.4% to 10.6%) and Portugal (from 13.6% to 11.8%). The increases were registered in Finland (from 9.0% to 9.5%), Austria (from 5.6% to 5.8%), Latvia (from 10.1% to 10.2%) and Romania (from 6.6% to 6.7%).