BRUSSELS, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- unemployment rate remained stable at 8.7 percent in December last year, still the lowest since January 2009, the statistics agency of the (EU) Eurostat said on Wednesday.

Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates in December were recorded in the Czech Republic, Malta and . The highest unemployment rates were observed in and .

Analysts expected the eurozone's unemployment rate to fall over the next few years.