US Unemployment Figures Worse Than Expected

By: Mike Cambell

Analysts had expected to see a continuing improvement in the US job market after revised data for November turned an 11000 job loss into a 4000 job gain, but the most recent figures showed that the US had shed another 85000 jobs in December with the national rate of unemployment staying obstinately around the 10% level. The vast majority of these losses were drawn from the beleaguered construction (53000) and manufacturing sectors (27000) sectors. The figures showed that jobs were created in the professional and business services areas where 50000 jobs were created. The world’s largest economy shed 4.2 million jobs in 2009 and has lost some 7.2 million positions since the global recession began to bite in 2007.


Eurozone Unemployment Rate Hits The 10% Mark

Figures released by Eurostat have put the level of unemployment for the European Union block of countries that use the single European currency at 10%; the highest level in 12 years. Across the 16 member block, 15.7 million people are now out of work. The figure has been steadily rising over recent months and across the European Union as a whole, all member states have higher levels of unemployment than 12 months ago. For the EU as a whole, almost 23 million people are out of work.
Within the Eurozone, unemployment levels are quite uneven with the highest levels of unemployment seen in Spain (19.4%) and the lowest in the Netherlands (3.9%). Analysts seem to be in agreement that the unemployment figures will worsen before they eventually improve as the illusive recovery finally kicks in. Employment levels always lag behind economic demand since employers need the revenue from future orders before they can afford to engage new staff. Staff levels are reduced quickly when demand is weak to maintain a company’s profitability and survival.