Euro Jobs Data Worsens, Dampens Summit Optimism

 　　Unemployment in the eurozone has reached its highest level since the introduction of the European single currency 14 years ago. Twenty percent of Greeks and 23 percent of Spaniards are out of work.

　　A day after the summit of European heads of state ended with smiles and handshakes, Tuesday's jobs news was a reminder¹ that Europe's economy will get worse before it gets better.

　　Figures from the EU statistics agency show the number of people out of work in the 17 countries that use the euro rose to a level not seen since the system was introduced in 1999. Sixteen-and-one-half-million people - 10.4 percent of the population - are now out of work.

　　Jobs and economic growth were at the top of the official agenda Monday at the Brussels summit. The final agreement provided for billions of euros from unused EU funds to go to projects to help unemployed² young people.

　　But Economics Professor Paolo Guerrieri, of the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, said the rate will rise even higher this year because of wrong policies chosen by eurozone governments.

　　"Almost all countries in Europe are following austerity recession policies, so things are going to become worse and worse... We are still in a recession, in minus something for this year, and if you cut demand, if you cut expenditure³ public and private, the final story is unavoidable," said Guerrieri.

　　Under the austerity policies, many European countries are cutting spending and raising taxes. And it is Europe's young people who are suffering more than their older, more experienced colleagues. Almost one in two Spaniards and Greeks between the ages of 16 and 24 cannot find work. Many have been without a job for a year or more.

　　Professor Guerriero is not alone when he says violent protests will become more common if the job market does not improve soon.

　　"The social situation is still under control. In other words, the protests are still limited to some specific groups. But if the recession is going to become worse and worse, by the second part of the year, I am afraid the social kind of tension is going to increase and become quite difficult to control," said Guerriero.

　　Job creation needs economic growth, but the countries in the eurozone with the highest unemployment also have big debts to pay off, which will be difficult because their economies are still stagnating⁴ or even shrinking. They are not generating enough revenues to shrink their borrowings - let alone provide more money to assist job creation schemes on the scale needed.

1 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

2 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

3 expenditure   

n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗

参考例句：

• The entry of all expenditure is necessary.有必要把一切开支入账。
• The monthly expenditure of our family is four hundred dollars altogether.我们一家的开销每月共计四百元。

4 stagnating   

v.停滞，不流动，不发展( stagnate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I feel I'm stagnating in this job. 我觉得，干这份工作我没有长进。
• ITT was stagnating when Geneen became the chief executive officer in 1959. 1959年吉宁出任行政总负责人时，国际电话电报公司正处于不景气时期。 来自辞典例句