The unemployment rate across the 17 countries that use the euro hit a record 12.2 percent in April, and the number of unemployed is on track to reach 20 million by year’s end.
The worsening jobs crisis points to the recession that has gripped the euro alliance. Many countries are struggling to stimulate growth while grappling with a debt crisis that has led governments to slash spending and raise taxes.
Unemployment in the euro zone rose in April from the previous record of 12.1 percent set in March, the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said Friday. In 2008, before the worst of the financial crisis, the rate was far less — about 7.5 percent.
The number of unemployed rose 95,000, to 19.38 million. The currency bloc’s population is about 330 million.
The unemployment rate for the overall euro zone masks sharp disparities among individual countries. Unemployment rates in Greece and Spain top 25 percent. In Germany, the rate is a low 5.4 percent.
The differences are particularly stark for youth unemployment. More than half of people ages 16 to 25 in Greece and Spain are unemployed. In Italy, the rate for this group tops 40 percent. For Germany, it’s just 7.5 percent.
“Youth joblessness at these levels risks permanently entrenched unemployment, lowering the rate of sustainable growth in the future,” said Tom Rogers, senior economic adviser at Ernst & Young.
— Associated Press
OIL
British Columbia opposes pipeline plan
British Columbia told a federal review board Friday that it opposes a pipeline that would allow tankers to export oil to Asia.
In its final written submission to a Joint Review Panel of energy and environmental officials, the B.C. government recommended that the $6 billion Northern Gateway project should not be approved as it has been proposed by Enbridge.
Canada’s Pacific Coast province said the Calgary, Alberta-based company has not presented any real assurance that it would be able to meet its commitments to prevent oil spills. “ ‘Trust me’ is not good enough in this case,” said the 99-page submission.
Janet Holder, the Enbridge executive overseeing the project, said in a telephone interview that British Columbians are skeptical because they are building a pipeline in northern British Columbia, where they have not been built before.
“ ‘Trust me’ may be a little strong,” Holder said of the province’s statement. “We have filed more evidence to date than any other pipeline proponent would do at this stage in the game. We have definitely taken this pipeline to a new level of standard.”
The review panel will hear final arguments starting this month, and a final report is due to the federal government by the end of the year.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been determined to get the Pacific pipeline built and export oil to China since President Obama initially rejected TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline from oil-rich Alberta to Texas. The decision to initially reject the pipeline went over badly in Canada, which relies on the United States for 97 percent of Canada’s energy exports.
