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Euro zone unemployment hits 10-year high in May
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 02 - 07 - 2009

Unemployment in the 16 countries that use the euro spiked to a ten-year high in May, reinforcing
concerns any recovery will take time with so many people
out of work, according to AP.
Eurostat, the statistics office of the EU, said Thursday
the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for the euro zone
in May stood at 9.5 percent, up from April's 9.3 percent.
The increase was expected in the markets in light of the
ongoing fall in output across Europe _ in the first quarter
of 2009, the euro zone economy saw output plunge by 2.5
percent as the global recession hit the industrial sector
in particular.
The unemployment rate was at its highest level since May
1999.
Spain is the euro zone's biggest casualty. Its jobless
rate rose to 18.7 percent in May from 18 percent in April.
The lowest unemployment rate in the euro zone was in the
Netherlands where only 3.2 percent of the working
population were without a job in May, and Austria, where
only 4.3 percent were jobless.
The unemployment rate in Germany, Europe's biggest
economy, was unchanged at 7.7 percent in May.
Unemployment is a lagging indicator, so the number of
jobless will likely continue to rise for a while even when
the recession officially ends. Recent economic releases
have stoked hopes that the euro zone may start to see some
sort of recovery towards the end of the year but that high
unemployment levels will continue to weigh on consumption
and sentiment.
The unemployment news comes just hours ahead of the
European Central Bank's latest interest rate decision.
Though the rate-setting governing council is set to keep
its benchmark rate unchanged at the record low of 1
percent, its president Jean-Claude Trichet is expected to
note the recent improving economic signals though
maintaining his view that recovery will take time.
Including the eleven countries that don't use the euro but
are in the EU, such as Britain and Sweden, the unemployment
rate rose to 8.9 percent in May from 8.7 percent in the
previous month. May's rate was the highest since June 2005.
The EU-wide rate has been swelled by the Baltic countries,
which are in a deep recession following the collapse of
debt-fueled economic boom. Latvia, whose economy slumped by
a staggering 18 percent year-on-year in the first quarter,
saw its unemployment rate, climb to 16.3 percent in May
from 15.3 percent in April.


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