The 17-nation Eurozone saw unemployment surge to yet another record high during May, reflecting job cuts in the public sector and little confidence by employers in the recession wracked, indebted nations that use the common currency. Across the euro region the jobless rate increased to 11.1% in May, the highest rate since the common currency was first introduced back in 1999. The rate was up 0.01% from April, said reports on Monday.
The rate was up over May of 2011, which registered a rate of 9.9%. Across the European Union, which is a broader 27-nation region that includes 10 countries including Sweden and Britain that do not use the common currency, unemployment was at 10.3% for May. The rate was up just a tick from the 10.2% in April. In May of 2011, the rate was at 9.5%.
Greece and Spain reported rates that were the highest in the eurozone. Greece recorded a rate of 21.9%, while Spain recorded an incredibly high rate of 24.6%. Both of the countries said that unemployment for people less than 25 years of age was a staggering 52%. Unemployment in Greece might be even worse than the most recent report suggests. The region in and around Athens, the capital, did not update its figures.
Employment rolls in Northern Europe did not seem to be battered as much by the economic crisis in the eurozone. Germany reported an unemployment rate for May of just 5.6%, Luxembourg reported 5.4%, the Netherlands reported 5.1% and posting the lowest unemployment rate was Austria at 4.1%.
