Euro area unemployment reached the highest level since the alliance was formed. The latest numbers, according to Eurostat:
The euro area (EA17) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 11.1% in May 2012, compared with 11.0% in April4. It was 10.0% in May 2011. The EU271 unemployment rate was 10.3% in May 2012, compared with 10.2% in April. It was 9.5% in May 2011.
The figures from Spain and Greece show the extent to which each has fallen into an economic depression that will be nearly impossible to reverse. The Eurostat report showed:
Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.1%), the Netherlands (5.1%), Luxembourg (5.4%) and Germany (5.6%), and the highest in Spain (24.6%) and Greece (21.9% in March 2012).
As the most well-educated, most skilled, and most wealthy citizens of Spain and Greece flee to more economically healthy regions where financial prospects are better, the futures of Spain and Greece will continue to crumble.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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