Unemployment in Euro Zone Hit New HIgh In February |
Posted: April 2, 2012 |
Unemployment in the 17 European Union countries that use the euro hit its highest level since the currency was introduced back in 1999, official figures showed Monday, in a further sign that the region is back in recession as governments cut spending to deal with their debts. Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics office, said unemployment in the euro zone rose to 10.8 percent in February from 10.7 percent the previous month. The number of unemployed totaled 17.1 million, nearly 1.5 million higher than the same month a year ago. The eighth straight monthly increase probably will reinforce expectations that the euro zone is in recession just as many countries pursue austerity measures to get a handle on their debts. Spain, whose government announced another raft of austerity measures on Friday, had the highest unemployment rate in the euro zone, 23.6 percent, with the rate of youth unemployment — those under 25 years of age — at 50.5 percent. Figures earlier indicating a bigger-than-anticipated downturn in manufacturing only added to the gloom surrounding the euro zone economy. Markit, a financial information concern, said its purchasing managers index — a gauge of business activity — fell to a three-month low of 47.7 in March from the previous month’s 49. Numbers below 50 indicate a contraction. Markit said Germany and France, the euro zone’s two powerhouse economies, saw activity levels deteriorate. France, in particular, fared worse with activity at a 33-month low of 46.7. Only Austria and Ireland saw output increase during the month. Across the euro zone, Markit said, new orders contracted at a faster rate than in February and that led to further job losses. The manufacturing sector is vital for Europe’s economic growth at a time when many countries are implementing austerity measures to get a handle on their debts. Following a 0.3 percent quarterly economic contraction across the euro zone in the fourth quarter of 2011, analysts said the manufacturing data showed that the region was more likely to fall back into recession — technically defined as two quarters of negative growth. Markets across Europe Monday gave up their early gains on the news of the two reports, with the Stoxx 50 of leading European shares down 0.2 percent, having opened earlier moderately higher on upbeat data from China.
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