Eurozone unemployment has climbed to its highest level since the euro was introduced, official data showed on Monday.
The eurozone unemployment rate crept up to 10.8pc in February, from 10.7pc in January, according to European Union statistics office Eurostat. This means more than 17m people are now out of work in the single currency area.
Across the EU, the unemployment rate was 10.2pc in February, compared with 10.1pc in January.
The statistics also illustrated the growing divide between the eurozone's northern and southern states. Unemployment in Greece jumped more than one percentage point to 21pc in December, with youth unemployment creeping above 50pc, to 50.4pc.
Spain's unemployment rate also rose to 23.6pc, from 23.3pc in January, while jobless rates in Germany, the Netherlands and Finland continued to fall. More than half of Spain's under-25s are now out of work, according to Eurostat.
Spain is undergoing painful reforms in an attempt to keep its budget deficit down. On Friday, the country unveiled €27bn of spending cuts and tax increases in a budget branded the "most austere" in its democratic history.
However, economists warned that the cuts might not be enough to reduce the country's 2012 deficit to 5.3pc of GDP, from 8.5pc last year.
The latest eurozone PMI manufacturing data for March also painted a bleak picture for some eurozone states. French manufacturing slumped to a 33-month low last month of 46.7, moving below the 50 level that separates growth from contraction.
A slight improvement to the contraction in Greek manufacturing, to 41.3 in March from 37.7 could not overshadow the still-dire situation in a country that is struggling to cope with a rising pile of austerity measures.
Overall manufacturing in the eurozone slipped to a three-month low of 47.7 in March, down from February’s 49.0.
By Szu Ping Chan
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9180402/Eurozone-unemployment-rate-hits-fresh-high-of-10.8pc.html
The eurozone unemployment rate crept up to 10.8pc in February, from 10.7pc in January, according to European Union statistics office Eurostat. This means more than 17m people are now out of work in the single currency area.
Across the EU, the unemployment rate was 10.2pc in February, compared with 10.1pc in January.
The statistics also illustrated the growing divide between the eurozone's northern and southern states. Unemployment in Greece jumped more than one percentage point to 21pc in December, with youth unemployment creeping above 50pc, to 50.4pc.
Spain's unemployment rate also rose to 23.6pc, from 23.3pc in January, while jobless rates in Germany, the Netherlands and Finland continued to fall. More than half of Spain's under-25s are now out of work, according to Eurostat.
Spain is undergoing painful reforms in an attempt to keep its budget deficit down. On Friday, the country unveiled €27bn of spending cuts and tax increases in a budget branded the "most austere" in its democratic history.
However, economists warned that the cuts might not be enough to reduce the country's 2012 deficit to 5.3pc of GDP, from 8.5pc last year.
The latest eurozone PMI manufacturing data for March also painted a bleak picture for some eurozone states. French manufacturing slumped to a 33-month low last month of 46.7, moving below the 50 level that separates growth from contraction.
A slight improvement to the contraction in Greek manufacturing, to 41.3 in March from 37.7 could not overshadow the still-dire situation in a country that is struggling to cope with a rising pile of austerity measures.
Overall manufacturing in the eurozone slipped to a three-month low of 47.7 in March, down from February’s 49.0.
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