Unemployment Rises in Europe, Weighing on Euro

In October unemployment in the Euro zone rose to its highest amount in the past 12 years. The unemployment rate in the Euro zone was 10.1 percent in October while unemployment for the full European Union remained unchanged at 9.6 percent. However, this unemployment rate conceals large differences among countries as some, such as the Netherlands at 4.4 percent, have very low unemployment rates while others, such as Spain at 20.7 percent, have very high ones. This increase in unemployment threatens to undermine efforts to revive stagnating economies in a time of tight budgets, especially in countries such as Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Ireland. This news comes as the Euro continues to remain under pressure as it has declined in value 8 percent since its most recent peak on November 4.