Eurozone unemployment hits record high

Unemployment in the 17 countries that make up the Eurozone monetary union reached a record high in September, reaching 11.6% as 18.5 million people are now faced with the reality of being unemployed.

According to official European Union statistics agency Eurostat, this number includes 146,000 more people who lost their jobs last month.

Europe, which is already plunged into a debt crisis and heavy austerity measures, has seen its unemployment rate increase dramatically since early 2008, when unemployment was just under 7.5%.

The new numbers of unemployed released for September show that joblessness has increased by 11.5% compared to the numbers put out in August and July. The rate of unemployment is now the highest it has ever been in the last 17 years, when the data began to be gathered. During the same month in 2011, unemployment was at 10.3%.

The two nations with the highest debt in Europe also lead when it comes to unemployment figures. Spain’s 25.8% jobless rate and Greece’s 25.1% figures came up on top when taking into account all the European Union nations. Austria and Luxembourg, with 4.4% and 5.2% rates respectively, have the least unemployment.

More worryingly for the authorities is the youth who find themselves in the majority of the unemployed. In September, 3.5 million  of the under 25 were without jobs in the euro area, an increase of 275,000 people from last year. In Greece, nearly 56% of all youth are out of work. It is predicted that more protests and demonstrations will take place in Greece and Spain. 

“European authorities so far don’t have a single strategy over tackling such a negative – until the economic system is reformed and a start in recovery, an assured fall of in the unemployment rate isn’t in view,” commented Anna Bodrova of Investcafe.

She continued by claiming that “on top of that, while the region’s authorities are being occupied with talks about perspectives and plans, the number of unemployed will be just increasing. Neither companies, nor entrepreneurs, are not ready not to hire, but to retain the staff they’ve already got.”

Alexander Clackson