Eurozone sees retail and jobs battering
EUROZONE unemployment ballooned in June, as rates crept up across almost all nations, according to data released by Eurostat and others yesterday.
Only Germany and Cyprus saw any improvement, while grim retail data hit Greece, France and Spain.
Unemployment climbed 123,000 in the Eurozone, to a total of 17.8m, meaning that since last year, two million more euro area workers are looking but cannot find jobs.
This put the overall rate for the Eurozone at 11.2 per cent, up from 10 per cent in the same month last year, and above the 10.4 per cent rate for the whole EU.
Levels of unemployment varied widely across Europe, with Spain’s 24.8 per cent providing a stark contrast to rates of 4.5 per cent in Austria, 5.1 per cent in Holland, and 5.4 per cent in Germany.
Greece, France and Spain were also hit with ugly retail and consumption data as the Eurozone crisis continued to bite into consumer confidence, said their national statistical bodies.