Eurozone jobless rate hits record 11%

Source: Financial Times

Eurozone unemployment has hit a fresh euro-era record, increasing the pressure on policymakers to launch economic growth-boosting measures.

Joblessness in the 17-country region was 11 per cent in April – the highest since the launch of Europe’s monetary union in 1999, according to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office.

The rate for March was originally reported as 10.9 per cent, but that was revised up on Friday to 11 per cent as well. Joblessness among the under-25s was 22.2 per cent.

Spain again saw by far the worst unemployment performance, with its rate rising to 24.3 per cent in April. Among Spain’s under-25s, the jobless rate rose to 51.5 per cent. By contrast, German unemployment fell further – to only 5.4 per cent of the workforce.

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