Brussels, 03/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - The unemployment rate reached 10.8% in February in the eurozone and is now at a record level. There are currently around 17 million people unemployed, which means that in relation to the working population, this proportion of the active population is the highest in 15 years, according to calculations by the EU Statistical Office published on Monday 2 April.
In the member state league tables, there are few surprises. Austria, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany are still the countries that have unemployment rates within the 4-6% band. Unemployment has continued to increase in Spain and reached a level of 23.6% in February. On the other hand, the situation in Greece, although far from promising, is still unclear due to the absence of data for the first months of 2012. Nonetheless, with a rate of 21% in December 2011, Greece is now expected to be close to the situation in Spain.
These figures are less encouraging than those forecast by certain experts, who were counting on an unemployment rate similar to that in January, namely 10.7%. Over the course of a month, 162,000 people have joined the dole queues in the eurozone. Over a 12-month period, this constitutes 1.476 billion.
Reactions were not long in coming, particularly with a declaration made by the leader of the S&D Group at the European Parliament, Hannes Swoboda, who said: “These figures are a consequence of the policies that have been made by the European institutions over the last years, in particular by the European Commission and the Council.” There is only one solution, increasing investment in order to promote economic growth, he concluded. (J.K./transl.fl)