Austria's unemployment rate reached 8.6 percent in December, up from 7.2 percent a month earlier, official statistics showed on Wednesday. It marked the third consecutive monthly rise of the national jobless rate, according to figures from the Federal Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection. According to the ministry, a total of 385,438 people were jobless in the country in December, up from 344,521 in the previous month, an increase of 6.9 percent year on year. Among them, 322,981 were officially registered as unemployed, up by 6.0 percent year on year.