Retail sales in the 16 countries that use the euro dropped by 0.7 percent in September, European Union statistics showed Thursday, evidence the economic recovery will be slow and bumpy.

The drop from August comes as high and rising unemployment and financial uncertainty continue to weigh on consumer confidence.

The EU's statistics agency Eurostat said sales of food, drinks and tobacco dropped by 0.9 percent in September, while sales of other goods fell by 0.6 percent.

Overall, retail sales fell by 3.6 percent in September from the same month a year ago.

Sales in the EU's largest economy, Germany, fell by 0.5 percent.