The number of people looking for work in the 17 countries that use the euro hit its highest level since the currency was introduced back in 1999, official figures showed, adding to fears that the region is in recession. The figures stand in marked contrast to the US with an unemployment rate of 8.2 percent in March from 8.3 percent in February. The US Labor Department reported Friday that the economy generated 120,000 jobs last March, well below the 203,000 expected and breaking a streak of robust job reports since the beginning of the year. The unemployment rate fell to 8.2 percent from 8.3 percent in February. Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office, said unemployment in the eurozone 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. Of the 17 countries in the eurozone, seven countries had unemployment rates of above 10 per cent. The eighth straight month of rising unemployment will likely reinforce concerns that the eurozone is in recession just as many countries pursue austerity measures to get a handle on their crippling debt loads. Spain, whose government announced another raft of austerity measures last Friday, had the highest unemployment rate in the eurozone of 23.6 percent, with youth unemployment - those under 25 years of age - standing at 50.5 percent. The lowest rate among the euro countries was Austria's 4.2 percent. Greece, Portugal and Ireland - the three countries that have already received a debt bailout - had unemployment rates of 21 percent, 15 percent and 14.7 percent respectively. With unemployment rising at a time of austerity, consumers have been reluctant to spend and that's been holding back the eurozone economy despite signs of life elsewhere, notably in the US and in emerging markets. Following a 0.3 percent quarterly contraction in the eurozone's economy in the fourth quarter of 2011, analysts said the manufacturing data show that the region is more likely to fall back into recession - technically defined as two quarters of negative growth. "It looks odds-on that eurozone GDP contracted again in the first quarter of 2012 …. thereby moving into recession," said Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS Global Insight. "And the prospects for the second quarter of 2012 currently hardly look rosy." "Soaring unemployment is clearly adding to the pressure on household incomes from aggressive fiscal tightening in the region's periphery," said Jennifer McKeown, senior European economist at Capital Economics. She warned that the situation is likely to get worse and that even in Germany, where unemployment held at 5.7 percent, "survey measures of hiring point to a downturn to come." Figures earlier indicating a bigger-than-anticipated downturn in manufacturing only added to the gloom surrounding the eurozone economy. Financial information company Markit said its purchasing managers index - a gauge of business activity - fell to a three-month low of 47.7 in March.
