Unemployment ticked up in January, and hit new highs in Europe, according to the latest data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The Paris-based group says that the unemploymentrate within the OECD area increased to8.1% inJanuary, from 8.0% in December. The jobless rate hit a new record high in the euro area in the month, rising 0.1 percentage point to 11.9%. The ratealso roseby 0.1 percentage point in theUnited States to 7.9%, but it fell by 0.1percentage point inCanada to 7.0%, and inJapan.

The OECD notes that more recent data in Canada and the U.S., shows that the unemployment rate held steady in Canada for February, and fell by 0.2 percentage points in theUS.

Youth unemployment continues to be a particular problem, with the rate rising 0.2 percentage points in January to 16.7%. While this is 0.6 percentage points below its peak, it remains 3.7 percentage points above its pre-crisis level, and is more than twice as high as the rate for the working age population as a whole. The youth unemployment rate reached a peak of 24.2% in theeuro area, the OECD says, with more than one in three unemployed in Italy and Portugal, and more than one in two inGreeceandSpain.

Overall, there were 48.8million people unemployed in the OECD area inJanuary, it said, 0.5 million more than in December 2012, and 14million more than in July 2008.