The Interminable Rise of Greek Youth Unemployment

In May Greek youth unemployment was almsot 65%, in June it showed a slight "improevment" falling to 58.8%.

However, when compared to previous years the level of youth unemployment has worsened (as per Efthimia Efthimiou):

- June 2012 it was 54.8%
- June 2011 it was 44.4%
- June 2010 it was 31.3%
- June 2009 it was 23.2%
- June 2008 it was 20%

Levels of unemployment such as this are normally associated with third world countries in the midst of a civil war, or the equivalent. Yet Greece is, allegedly, a first world country and is meant to be an "equal" member of a powerful and prosperous economic block (ie the Eurozone).

The reality is that Greece is not treated as an equal, it should never have joined or been allowed to join the Eurozone and the prosperity within the Eurozone is not evenly spread but confined to the wealthy Northern economies.

As such it is clear that as an experiment the Eurozone is destined to fail, indeed the world will be a better place without it. However, with levels of unemployment such as this in Greece the real danger is that of a plague of dictatorships and civil unrest spreading country by country in the Southern members of the Eurozone.

In order to survive as a democracy and civilised society Greece needs to exit the Eurozone now, others such as Cyprus need also to consider their positions. 

Unemployment Falls as Estate Agents Hire Staff

As I have noted before, the British economy is driven by the property market and people's confidence (usually misplaced, given that property prices are relative) that an increase in house prices is an increase in personal liquid wealth.

Thus it should come as no surprise to see that today's announcement that unemployment dropped to 7.7%, from 7.8% in the three months to April, is largely due to an upturn in confidence in the property market.

Overall 80,000 jobs were created over the period, significantly above the predictions by "experts" and economists of an increase of 55,000. However, accounting for a large part of this 80,000 increase was a rise in the number of "real estate" jobs (on the back of a surge in confidence in the property market) of 50,000.

NB: "Real estate" jobs are in the main estate agents.

Greece Imploding

Greece is continuing on its downward spiral to financial implosion.

To add to the woes of the good people of Greece, on top of last week's truly shocking youth unemployment statistics (close to 65%), Reuters reports that Greece's economy shrank at annual pace of 4.6% in the second quarter, contributing to a slump of more than 20% in real terms since 2008.

Ironically, in the delusional world of economists, these figures were slightly better than the 5% contraction forecast.

Delusions aside, Der Spiegel has blown the whole charade of bailing out the Greek economy wide open. It quoted an internal document prepared by the Bundesbank as saying that Europe "will certainly agree a new aid programme for Greece" by early next year at the latest.

The Bundesbank also described the risks associated with the existing aid package for Greece as "extremely high", and said the approval last month of a 5.8 billion euro aid instalment to Athens had been "politically motivated".

As I have noted many times before, in order to survive as a democracy and civilised society Greece needs to exit the Eurozone now; others such as Cyprus need also to consider their positions. 

Greek Youth Unemployment Close to 65%

Youth unemployment in Greece has risen to a shocking 64.9% in May.

Levels of unemployment such as this are normally associated with third world countries in the midst of a civil war, or the equivalent. Yet Greece is, allegedly, a first world country and is meant to be an "equal" member of a powerful and prosperous economic block (ie the Eurozone).

The reality is that Greece is not treated as an equal, it should never have joined or been allowed to join the Eurozone and the prosperity within the Eurozone is not evenly spread but confined to the wealthy Northern economies.

As such it is clear that as an experiment the Eurozone is destined to fail, indeed the world will be a better place without it. However, with levels of unemployment such as this in Greece the real danger is that of a plague of dictatorships and civil unrest spreading country by country in the Southern members of the Eurozone.

In order to survive as a democracy and civilised society Greece needs to exit the Eurozone now, others such as Cyprus need also to consider their positions.

Eurozone Unemployment Hits 12.2%

Eurostat reports that the rate of unemployment in the Eurozone hit 12.2% in April 2013, up from 12.1% in March. This compares very unfavourably with the levels of unemployment in the UK (7.7%) and the USA (7.5%).

The level of youth unemployment in certain countries is particularly shocking, the highest being in Greece (62.5% in February 2013), Spain (56.4%), Portugal (42.5%) and Italy (40.5%).

As I have said before, this level of unemployment is not sustainable and is a threat to democracy.

Greek Youth Unemployment Hits 64.2%

In a damning indictment of the Eurozone's economic policies, and of the folly of joining a single currency system, the youth unemployment (18-24) level in Greece has risen to a disgusting 64.2%.

Levels of unemployment such as this are normally associated with third world countries in the midst of a civil war, or the equivalent. Yet Greece is, allegedly, a first world country and is meant to be an "equal" member of a powerful and prosperous economic block (ie the Eurozone).

The reality is that Greece is not treated as an equal, it should never have joined or been allowed to join the Eurozone and the prosperity within the Eurozone is not evenly spread but confined to the wealthy Northern economies.

As such it is clear that as an experiment the Eurozone is destined to fail, indeed the world will be a better place without it. However, with levels of unemployment such as this in Greece the real danger is that of a plague of dictatorships and civil unrest spreading country by country in the Southern members of the Eurozone.

In order to survive as a democracy and civilised society Greece needs to exit the Eurozone now, others such as Cyprus need also to consider their positions.

Oh and by the way, in case anyone cares, today is Europe Day!

Eurozone Unemployment Hits New High

Unsurprisingly, given that monetary policy within the Eurozone is being conducted by unelected and unaccountable anti inflation zealots from the ECB, unemployment levels within the Eurozone hit a record high of 12.1% in March.

The highest increases were registered in Greece (2 1.5% to 27.2% between January 2012 and January 2013), Cyprus (10.7% to 14. 2 %), Spain (24.1% to 26.7%) and Portugal (15.1% to 17.5%) .

Eurostat estimates that there are over 19 million people unemployed within the Eurozone, 3.6 million of them being under 25.

This level of unemployment is not sustainable and is a threat to democracy.

The Pain In Spain

Unsurprisingly Spain has had to delay reaching it budget deficit reduction targets by two years, to 2016.

Additionally, it foresees its unemployment rate as being 27.1% in 2013 and 26.7% in 2014.

At what stage will the Europhiles wake up and realise that levels of unemployment such as these are not sustainable in a Western democracy without there being serious blowback?

The above figures are of course subject to revision!

The Eurozone Isn't Working - Unemployment Now 19M

The level of unemployment in the Eurozone in February hit a new record at 19M (12%). The highest rates being in Greece and Spain, both at 26% and Portugal at 17%.

The figures for youth unemployment are truly shocking; Greece 58 .4% in December 2012, Spain 55.7 %, Portugal 38.2% and Italy 37.8 %.

It's time that people faced facts, the Eurozone simply isn't working!

Unemployment Down?

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) unemployment ahs fallen:

"The unemployment rate was 7.8% of the economically active population, down 0.1 percentage points on July to September 2012 and down 0.6 on a year earlier. There were 2.50 million unemployed people, down 14,000 on July to September 2012 and down 156,000 on a year earlier."

Yet the job market seems to be extremely tight. According to the Guardian, over 1,700 people have applied for eight jobs at a new branch of Costa in Mapperley.

It seems that the apparent fall in those officially unemployed may in fact represent a shift "off balance sheet".

Eurozone Unemployment At All Time High

The number of unemployed people in the Eurozone rose to record levels in November, rising to 11.8% from 11.7% the previous month. Spain, at 26.6%, had the highest level of unemployment.

In total 18.8 million people were unemployed in the Eurozone, an increase of 113,000 from the previous month.

The seeds of the Eurozone's destruction have been sown, the only question is when will the harvest be reaped.

IMF Loses Patience With Eurozone

The IMF has warned that the Eurozone still poses the greatest threat to global financial stability, and has urged the Eurozone to "do whatever it takes" to protect the Euro.

All very nice, maybe, but experience has shown that the politicians and bureaucrats of the Eurozone are not capable of decisive action. Hence the fact that the IMF in the report issued the warning that the lack of decisive action by European governments and institutions risked tearing the Eurozone apart:

"Incremental policy making has been insufficient to fully allay market tensions, despite the recent market rally since end July.

Merely muddling through imposes increasingly higher costs, as the unchecked forces of fragmentation continue to gather speed and undermine the very foundations of the union – a common monetary policy, and economic and financial integration....

The existing strains in the markets require a leap to better policies if the euro area is to stabilise funding markets and reduce spreads, arrest capital flight, and begin to reintegrate financially."

The advice is sound, and the warning valid. However, the leaders and bureaucrats of the Eurozone are simply not up to the job; as the millions who are unemployed and living in poverty in the Eurozone can attest to.

25 Million Europeans Unemployed

As at August (as per Eurostat) a staggering 25.466 million Europeans were unemployed, with 18 million of them residing in the Eurozone. As if these figures were not bad enough, youth unemployment in Greece in August was 55.4%, and in Spain the rate was 52.9%.

Rest assured that the unemployment rates have worsened since then!

This is a situation that must not be allowed to continue, as the social consequences in those countries where their democracies are being undermined by the economic doctrines of Eurozone bureaucrats will be unimaginable.

As if things were not already bad in Greece, it appears that they will become worse. Greece's Net TV has obtained a draft budget that shows that the Greek economy will contract by 6.1% this year and 3.8% next year.

This is in stark contrast to the view of the European Commission, which expects the Greek economy to display "an insignificant improvement in activity in 2013" (European Economic Forecast Spring 2012 page 71).

The people of Greece, if they have any sense, should flee the Eurozone as fast as their legs will carry them.

EC Fiddles Whilst Europe Burns

Eurozone unemployment has hit a record high of 10.9% (17.3M people are now looking for work), with Greece clocking in at 21.7% and Spain at 24.1%.

The EC claims that it is taking the problem seriously, and will (by the end of May) publish "country specific recommendations".

Given that the rate of unemployment rose by 169K in the last month, this means that even if the recommendations were of any use (which of course they won't be) another 169K people will be out of work by then.

The EC's only real objective is to ensure that it obtains a budget increase of 6.8%, it is fiddling whilst Europe burns!

The EC is not fit for purpose, as the people of Europe are finding out to their cost.

Spanish Youth Unemployment Soars

As our EU overlords seek to impose further austerity measures on their subjects, whilst at the same time seeking an increase in their own budget for 2013 of 6.8%, it is worthwhile remembering that the EU financial straitjacket is having real consequences for real people.

Spanish unemployment figures have hit a record level of 5,639,500 at the end of March (24.4%), with youth unemployment at a shocking level of 52%.

The EU may care to pause and reflect on those figures for a moment, before it continues with its self destructive quest to fill its bloated coffers with a 6.8% increase in budget.

Greece's Death March

Greek unemployment has hit a new record high, up to 21.8% in January from a revised 21.2% in December. Youth unemployment now stands at a highly dangerous and shameful 50.8% up from 37.1% in 2011 and 22.6% in 2008.

A country that consigns more than half of its youth to the dustbin also consigns its future to that same dustbin.

Greece's Deathmarch Continues

The Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) reports that the Greek economy will continue to shrink (5%) this year, and that unemployment is at 20%.

Eurozone Unemployment Rises

Unemployment across the Eurozone has increased from 10.7% in January to 10.8% in February, the highest level since the Euro was imposed in 1999.

Spain leads the field, with a stonking 23.6% of its citizens unemployed!

Deadline Day For Greek Bond Swap

Today is Deadline Day for the Greek bond swap, creditors have until 20:00 GMT to accept the deal.

However, for reasons best known to the Greek government (perhaps something to do with disruption being caused by today's solar flares?), the announcement about the outcome of the deal won't be made until 06:00 GMT Friday.

The hype, spin and misinformation continues as Greece and the Eurozone continue to talk up the prospects of a successful deal. The latest figures being bandied about suggest that there will be a 75% take up, ie 25% of bondholders have not agreed to the deal (it is speculated that hedge funds are actually buying blocking stakes). This will mean that CACs will have to be used, and Greece will officially default (as the deal will not count as "voluntary").

Aside from the legal technicalities, wrt percentages and CACs, there are also the political nuances. Anything short of 80% will be considered by the Germans as being a failure.

Oh, and irrespective of the "success" or otherwise of this deal, the grim financial reality that Greece faces was highlighted this morning by today's unemployment figures that show that 21% of the workforce were unemployed in December (youth unemployment now stands at over 51%!).

European Commission Forecast Worse Than Worthless

The European Commission, in its February 2012 forecast, has admitted that its November 2011 forecast for the Greek economy is in fact wrong.

"In 2011, economic activity was much weaker than anticipated in the autumn forecast."

Real output in Greece is expected to shrink by 4.3% compared with the November forecast of around 2.6%.

"Greece, Portugal and Spain account for 95% of the rise in unemployment in the EU since late 2010".

Unfortunately, the "success" of the Greek bailout "plan" rests on the reliability of the Commission's eight year forecast for Greece (which states that by 2014 Greece will return to growth). However, as the Commission has admitted, the forecast isn't worth the paper it is printed on.

"Greater spillovers from potential worsening conditions in Greece, due to the large exposure of the financial sector, are substantial."

Here is the Commission's February forecast, which will doubtless be out of date and worthless by mid year!