Eurozone unemployment at record high as inflation drops

On 30 April 2013 BBC News reported that unemployment in the eurozone has surged to a fresh record high, while inflation has fallen to a three-year low, boosting expectations that the European Central Bank will cut interest rates.

Unemployment in the 17 countries using the euro hit 12.1% in March, up from February's 12%, according to official figures from Eurostat. In total, 19.2m people are now out of work in the region. Separate Eurostat data showed that inflation slowed to 1.2% in April. Greece and Spain recorded the highest unemployment rates in the eurozone, at 27.2% and 26.7% respectively, while Austria, at 4.7%, and Germany, at 5.4%, had the lowest rates.

Youth employment, defined as those under 25, hit 3.6 million in the eurozone. In Greece, 59.1% of under-25s were unemployed as of the end of January, while in Spain, 55.9% were unemployed.

ESO: Background Information: Unemployment in Spain passes six-million mark for the first time http://www.europeansources.info/record/unemployment-in-spain-passes-six-million-mark-for-the-first-time/

ESO: Background Information: Record 3.22 million jobseekers in France http://www.europeansources.info/record/record-3-22-million-jobseekers-in-france/

Eurostat: News Release No.50, 2013: Euro area unemployment rate at 12.0% http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/products-press-releases/-/3-02042013-AP

France 24, 30.04.13: Eurozone unemployment reaches record 12.1 percent http://www.france24.com/en/20130430-eurozone-unemployment-joblessness-record-12-1-percent

---