EU UNemployment goes double digits!

[golfguru]

Debt-laden Europe posted a record unemployment rate on Tuesday and its core currency and shares
plummeted amid a worrying industrial slowdown.

I thought EU has everything going for them...good healthcare system, good government funding
for education & unemployed and retirement.

So, which countries have low unemployment and why are they doing better?


http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-business/eu-jobless-hits-record-101-per-cent-20100601-wv7l.html

[tabatha]

1. They don't print money like we do.

Check this data:

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/World-Economy/Unemployment-Rates.aspx

The US is only slightly better than Europe - countries better than the US - Canada, UK, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Switzerland. I'd like to know how the most socialist countries like Denmark, Finland, etc are doing.

Unemployment in April 2010 in the European Union was 9.7 per cent, unchanged from the previous month, data from the

EU's statistics office Eurostat showed on June 1 2010.

According to the report, there were about 23.3 million unemployed people in the 27 members of the EU, of whom 15.86 million were in the 16-country euro area.

On annual basis, the ranks of the unemployed swelled by 2.4 million in the EU over the 12 months ending in April 2010, of which 1.28 million were in the euro area.

The lowest unemployment levels were recorded in The Netherlands, where the unemployment rate was at 4.1 per cent, followed by Austria at 4.9 per cent. On the opposite side, the highest unemployment was recorded in Latvia (22.5 per cent), Spain (19.7 per cent) and Estonia (19 per cent).

Unemployment in Bulgaria in April stood at 9.95 per cent, while the estimates for May showed a decrease to 9.53 per cent, according to Labour Minister Totyo Mladenov.

In relation to last year, one country – Germany – showed a fall in unemployment, from 7.6 to 7.1 per cent, while an increase in unemployment was recorded in every other country of the union, Eurostat said.

The mildest rise of unemployment was observed in Luxembourg, from 5.3 to 5.4 per cent, and Malta, from 6.9 to 7.0 per cent, whereas the sharpest increases were in Estonia - 11 per cent to 19 per cent between April 2009 and April 2010, followed by Latvia - 15.4 to 22.5 per cent, and Lithuania - 11.2 to 17.4 per cent over the same period of time.

[bossy22]

5. and if they did they would be in better shape

there are only 3 main ways of getting out of a debt crisis; default, austerity measures (such as cutting social services and raising taxes) or devaluing (printing money). Devaluing is the best solution in this case; sure it will lead to higher prices on imports but it would allow the social services to stay stable and would boost exports.

[golfguru]

8. However I can't think of many countries which

have prospered by printing excessive money.

[bossy22]

12. its not about economic growth at that point

its about stopping the bleeding. Devaluaing isnt a good thing on its own; it leads to inflation, but if you are in a massive debt crisis, its the least of all the evils. Its really the only one that allows you to maintain a strong social safety system throughout the crisis. Devalueing does the same thing a default does- it wipes the slate clean, but unlike a default after devaluation you still have some amount of credit left.

[Art_from_Ark]

19. Well, the US has "prospered" by printing excess money

but that's because the US dollar is in a unique situation as the world's reserve currency. When bu$h and Obama announced trillions of dollars for bailouts, the currency market barely noticed. When Germany et al announced a trillion dollars worth of new euros for the Greece situation, the euro started tanking. And of course, lesser currencies have all-too-often collapsed due to excessive printing, among other reasons.

[Statistical]

20. Take a look at dollar index or dollar cross (vs any major currency)

and tell me the currencies markets "barely noticed".

[Art_from_Ark]

21. "Barely noticed" is a relative term

Compared with the nosedive that the euro has taken in just the last few months, the markets "barely noticed" about the USD. For example, the euro has lost more than 20% of its value vis-a-vis the dollar just since December. The dollar's decline was much less than that.

[golfguru]

duplicate-deleted

[golfguru]

7. Agreed on Australia, NZ & Switzerland being great countries!

I have traveled to all 3 and was impressed with general conditions.

The country which impressed me the most was however Sweden but that was in
my visit long ago in 1970's. It was very clean, modern and bright. never saw
any dilapidated housing or stores. Also my first encounter with self serve
gas stations.

[tabatha]

9. And it is way more "socialist" than the US.

[golfguru]

10. With one exception, people receiving welfare type benefits

are much lower in Sweden than US. I am talking percentages.
The work ethic is alive and well in Sweden.

[tabatha]

11. For years, Americans have been known to be the

hardest working people on the planet. Sorry.
How many people in Sweden work more than 1 job as happens here?
Probably very few, possibly because workers in Sweden are paid properly, unlike here.

[golfguru]

13. You are both right and wrong

Americans workers are correctly known for long hours and hard work.
But there is also a large percentage of Americans who do
not hold jobs and depend on government checks. And that includes
many under retirement age and in good health.

[tabatha]

14. Do you have facts to support that?

Link?

[golfguru]

15. I am just a voracious reader and never jot down links...

However just for you this link might provide a few answers

http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=114&subsecID=143&contentID=250201

Google is your friend!

Also I am sure you recall how many million Americans are receiving
food stamps. Just one indication of lack of jobs/poor skills/low wages/etc

[tabatha]

16. You made the claim. It was not up to me to google.

There are a lot of people who are not working, who would LOVE to have a job. It is not because they are lazy or have a bad work ethic.

And by the way, did you know that in Sweden, Denmark, Germany and other countries, the welfare safety net is such that if anyone lost their job, they do not have to worry ---- for a long time. ANd they have a much better educational system where people can be educated enough to be employed, unlike here.

Try finding Thom Hartmann's show when he was in Denmark, and listen to the interviews.

[golfguru]

17. I have loads of anecdotal evidence from Sweden

because my wife comes from Sweden and has 7 brothers
and sisters and a whole bunch of nephews & nieces, all
living in Sweden. We do not know of any of her adult
relatives who do not have a job of some sort.

In this good old USA, my own relatives lost their jobs
a few months ago and are in no hurry to find another job
until the unemployment runs out. They are just doing the
minimum effort necessary to qualify for unemployment checks.

So, that is one reason why I think the work ethic is going
by the wayside in US. Yes, this is entirely anecdotal.

[tabatha]

18. Your relatives who lost their jobs WERE working.

And they probably lost them through no fault of their own.

Just because your relatives are not in a hurry to look for jobs, does not mean that everyone is like that. Possibly that is your impression, but maybe they don't have jobs because there are none.

I have seen quite a number of posts here to the effect "I got a job" --- excitement after looking for months and maybe years, and hence your characterization is very unfair to them.

[tabatha]

2. Socialist Denmark - with good health care, and otehr safety nets

(RTTNews) - Denmark’s jobless rate fell to a seasonally adjusted 4.1% in April from 4.2% in the previous month, a report released by the Statistics Denmark showed on Friday. Economists had expected the jobless rate to stay at 4.2% in April.

http://www.dailymarkets.com/releases/2010/05/27/denmark-jobless-rate-drops-slightly-in-april/

It is from April, but it gives one an idea of how they are faring in comparison to the US.

[bossy22]

3. not a fair comparison

denmark is a country with 1/50 the population and 1/60 the size of our economy

Its like comparing disease progressions between and ant and a grizzley bear

[tabatha]

4. Actually, a large country should have a larger buffer

perturbations can overcome a small pool; they can dissipate in a large pool.

[bossy22]

6. too simplified

denmark being such a small player could be minorly affected by major world economic

Just like birth related HIV usually never kills an infant.