In the European Union, unemployment rates in the region that
uses the euro currency are at their highest ever, as a returned
recession, falling income levels and persistent debt concerns
trouble the region's economy, as its latest statistics show.
After nearly five years of economic crises, the European Union
is also seeing more divergence between its member nations,
particularly in the north, where economies have resilience, as
opposed to the south, where unemployment rates are an average of
more than 7 points higher. From Brussels, Teri Schultz filed
this report for our Newscast desk: "More Europeans are out of
work now in the eurozone — almost 11.8 percent — than in the
entire two-decade history of the common currency." "Employment
and Social Affairs Commissioner Lazlo Andor says joblessness
plus cutbacks in governments' social spending mean poverty is on
the rise." "'After a few years of persistent crisis, most
national welfare systems have lost much of their ability to
protect household incomes against t