From April 2011 to April 2012, unemployment has risen across the European Union, with Spain's jobless rate nearing one in four, reports Shamik Das.
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At the start of the week, Left Foot Forward reported the story of a new pan-European campaign, “Austerity Isn’t Working”, a coalition of progressive institutions in favor of a pro-European, pro-growth agenda.
Carlos Mulas, Executive Director of Fundacion IDEAS, explained:
It was just over a year ago, in Madrid, when the movement of “indignados” took to the streets and gathered the world’s attention with their calls for a more inclusive democracy and economy.
Their proposals to strengthen democracy from the “bottom up” to counterbalance unregulated market economies was welcomed across the globe. The “indignados” movement took different forms in New York, Tel Aviv and London, inspiring a summer of social activism. Fast forward a year, however, and the calls for inclusion are as great as ever.
Today, there was further proof of the failure of austerity across Europe – and the toll on Spain in particular – with the publication of the latest Eurostat unemployment statistics (pdf).
As Chart 1 shows, in the year from April 2011 to April 2012, unemployment has risen in nearly all European Union states for which data is available, with Spain’s jobless rate nearing one in four.
Chart 1:
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These are the key stats:
• The Europan Union (EU27) unemployment rate was 10.3% in April 2012, up 0.8 points from 9.5% in April 2011;
• The euro area (EA17) unemployment rate was 11% in April 2012, up 1.1 points from 9.9% in April 2011;
• The EU unemployment figure was 24.667 million in April 2012, up 1.932 million since April 2011;
• The EA unemployment figure was 17.405 million in April 2012, up 1.797 million since April 2011.
• Austria (3.9%), Luxembourg (5.2%), Holland (5.2%) and Germany (5.4%) have the lowest unemployment rates; and
• Spain (24.3%), Greece (21.7% in February 2012), Latvia (15.2% in the first quarter of 2012) and Portugal (15.2%) have the highest jobless rates.
And there was further grim news from the States, with the US unemployment rate up to 8.2% from 8.1%, bad but 2.1 and 2.9 points below the EU and EA rates respectively.
Austerity is failing, and we’re all paying the price.
27 Responses to “EU area unemployment up 1.9 million in a year – as Spain’s jobless rate nears 25%”
Knut Cayce
For real insight into Economics & Economic History I have John Kenneth Galbraith to thank. The lessons of "The… http://t.co/H09eFae1
BevR
RT @leftfootfwd: EU area unemployment up 1.9 million in a year – as Spain’s jobless rate nears 25% http://t.co/a45p5BaK
Mark Smithson
RT @leftfootfwd: EU area unemployment up 1.9 million in a year – as Spain’s jobless rate nears 25% http://t.co/a45p5BaK
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[…] Europe, and figures yesterday showed unemployment in the European Union rose nearly two million in the year to April 2012, up to 24.667m […]
Anonymous
Thirteen years of New Labour government ended with the UK’s worst recession since the 1929-31 Labour government and you try to blame “neo-liberal economics”?!?
I personally have done nothing whatsoever to cause the double-dip? In actual fact my behaviour in prudently saving during the credit-fuelled bubble and increasing spending during the recession has alleviated it by a miniscule amount. So when did you stop beating your wife?