Eurozone unemployment reaches 10%

[denem]

Source: NNC

Unemployment in the 16 countries that use the euro hit 10% in November for the first time since the single currency was introduced in 1999.

The unemployment rate in the eurozone is now at its highest level since August 1998, Eurostat said.

Some 15.7 million people are out of work in the eurozone.

Across all 27 countries that make up the EU, there are 22.9 million people unemployed. The jobless rate rose to 9.5% in November from 9.4% in October.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8448641.stm

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Highest:
Latvia - 22.3%
Spain - 19.4%

Lowest:
Netherlands - 3.9%
Austria - 5.5%

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. Latvia was one of the places like Iceland that went for "cowboy economics" in a big way

Don't know the circumstances in Spain, but it's interesting that two of the countries with the strongest social safety nets have the lowest unemployment.

Furthermore, Norway (which does not use the euro) has an unemployment rate in the neighborhood of 2%.

The original article also lists the UK as the only country outside Eastern Europe where output is still falling. Not so coincidentally, perhaps, it's the country where Margaret Thatcher introduced an early version of Reaganomics.

[denem]

2. The Neverlands is particularly interesting. Immigration has been a huge issue

for the right. 'We are drowning (with) immigrants'.

[izquierdista]

4. Building boom

Spain's economy has been a combination of Las Vegas and Florida. Now's the time to buy a condo on the Costa Brava if you were thinking about it.

[Dappleganger]

5. Norway

and other Scandinavian countries usually have a very high percentage of people who work for the government, too.

[DFW]

3. Take all statistics with a grain of salt

As one who lives in western Europe, and is married to a local social worker, I know that all EU countries play
around with their statistics to put their best face forward. The unemployment situation in the Netherlands is
nowhere near as rosy as 3.9% might indicate, although from what I hear from Spain, it really is that bad down
there. Maybe Spain is a little more honest in reporting their situation. Where I live, in Germany, it is pretty
bad, but they manipulate certain kinds of unemployed to not appear in the figures on unemployed reported. As the
borders are now pretty much open, it is easy for anyone to get their unemployment payments in Belgium, for example,
while really living in the Netherlands, France or Germany. Every time my wife sees a report of an "improvement"
in the job situation, she just laughs and says to tell it to the long lines of unemployed people she has to try
and help out--lines that are not getting any shorter, by the way.

[Romulox]

6. Thanks for the info. The unemployment rate in Mich. is TWICE the gov't statistic...