Euro Area Unemployment Rate Rises To 10.3%

Eurostat reports that Euro area unemployment rose to 10.3% in October

The agency reported that

Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.1%), Luxembourg (4.7%) and the Netherlands (4.8%), and the highest in Spain (22.8%), Greece (18.3% in August 2011) and Latvia (16.2% in the second quarter of 2011).

The figures for the already financial weak southern European nations remain extraordinarily high. These are the same nations which suffer from huge budget deficits and debt burdens. Most have turned to austerity to bring these down and to get outside aid from neighbors like Germany. Many economists believe that this austerity will mean a withdrawal of government stimulus efforts.

It is hard to see how the economist of Spain and Italy can be kept from recession. Spain’s unemployment rates has been over 20% for a year. Among people under 25 years of age, the number is closer to 40%. These people rely on government support for whatever meager lifestyles they have. Without government stimulus, it will be impossible to get many back to work.