Record in youth unemployment in euro area
The percentage of unemployed people (10.4) in the euro area hasn’t been this high since 1998. 21.3 percent of people younger than 25 is unemployed.
According to the NRC, the highest rates of youth unemployment are found in the southern countries of Europe. Spain beats the lot with an youth-unemployment rate of 48.7 percent, followed by Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Slovakia and Estonia. Youth-unemployment in France, Italy and Belgium is 23.8 %, 31,0 % and 20.7 % respectively.
Austria and the Netherlands have the lowest percentage of youth-unemployment in the euro area. In Austria, 4.1 percent of the youth doesn’t have a job. In the Netherlands, this percentage is 4.9.
Economists are worried because the high numbers of unemployment lead to political and social anxiety. The worries are strengthened because the discrepancy between unemployment in northern and southern countries is expected to grow.
It may come as no surprise that European Governments have decided to spend the unused 82 billion euro of EU- grants will be put to use in the fight against unemployment.
