BRUSSELS -?The eurozone unemployment rate was 8.6 percent in January, the lowest level since December 2008, marking a positive start to 2018, data from European Union statistics agency Eurostat showed on Thursday.

The rate, which was revised down to 8.6 percent from a previously estimated 8.7 percent, is unchanged compared with December last year.

Compared with January last year, when the unemployment rate stood at 9.6 percent,the unemployment rate fell in all member states.

The continued drop in unemployment rate coincides with the eurozone's strong economic growth in 2017, which expanded at its fastest rate in a decade.

However, there are still big disparities between member states. Unemployment rate in Germany stood at 3.6 percent, while Spain's rate was 16.3 percent. France's unemployment rate was stable at 9.0 percent.

In Italy, the third largest economy in the eurozone, the rate was even increased from 10.9 percent in December to 11.1 percent.

The lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Czech Republic, Malta and Germany, while the highest were in Greece and Spain.