Eurozone Unemployment Hits Record High

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The Unemployment in the 17 countries in Europe has hit another record high in April, according to the latest official figures, reports NYTimes. This is the latest in the string of bad news for the economically weak single currency zone.

Eurozone Unemployment Hits Record High

Unemployment Statistics

The statistics office of bloc, Eurostat stated that unemployment has increased to 12.2 percent in April from the previous stats of 12.1 percent in the previous month.

The total unemployed workforce reached 19.38 million after 95,000 more jobless were added. If the number goes on increasing at this speed then the figure could reach beyond the 20 million mark this year.

According to Eurostat the inflation in Euro area increased to 1.4 percent in 12 months in May compared to 1.2 percent in the previous month. The factors that lead to the rise were increase in prices of food, alcohol and tobacco.

Disparity within Eurozone

There are big differences among the different countries in the Eurozone. In Greece and Spain more than one in four people are jobless whereas, in Germany, this number is stable at 5.4 percent.

The disparities in the performance of different countries in Eurozone are evident from the figures. For instance while Greece has been reeling under recession from past, Germany, on the other hand, is making progress at a steady rate.

Eurozone & Recession

But total Eurozone is in the claws of the longest recession since the single currency was introduced in 1999. Eurozone has faced economic decline for six quarters, which is more than the recession that occurred after the financial crisis. The intensity of the decline is, however, low.

According to an economist the reason behind this decline is the target of the European governments to cut on debt by increasing the taxes and bringing down the spending programs.

Earlier this month, the European Central Bank, tried to bring out some relief in the life of businesses and consumers by slashing its main interest to a record low 0.5 percent.

According to the experts another slashing of interest is possible even after the inflation is less than the target of just below 2 percent, which was set by the central bank. There are steps possible from the Central Bank, which can probably increase its lending to small and medium sized enterprises. These businesses are the ones which generate maximum employment.

The stocks on European exchange fell in early trading. The FTSE of Britain came down 0.9 percent to 6,599.76. DAX in Germany declined 0.9 percent to 8,323.05. France’s CAC-40 declined 1.1 percent to 3,952.50.

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