For the first time since the introduction of the euro currency, the unemployment rate for the countries using the single currency, has reached 10 percent. Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency, said on Friday that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the 16 euro countries rose to 10 percent in November from 9.9 percent in October and 8 percent in November 2008.
In France, the rate stood at 10 percent, up from 9.9 percent in October. In Germany, it was 6.8 percent, unchanged from October and down 0.1 point from September. For Italy, the rate was 9.7 percent, unchanged on the month.
The highest rates in the month were recorded in Latvia, at 22.3 percent, and Spain, with 19.4 percent. Unemployment among the under-25s in Spain has now touched a massive 43.8 percent.
“We think that the labor market correction has a long way to go,” said Nick Kounis, chief European economist at Fortis Bank in Amsterdam. “Employment has still not fully adjusted to the fall in output during the recession, reflecting institutional rigidities in the euro-zone labor market.”
