LOBBYING FOR JOBS!

According to the latest Eurostat report for January, there are currently 16.92 million people unemployed in the eurozone. This represents 10.7% of the active working population. 1. Spain (23.3%) 1 person out of 4 is without work 2. Greece (20%) 1 person out of 5 is without work 3. Ireland and Portugal (14.8%) 1 person out of 7 is without work 4. France (10%) 1 person out of 10 is without work 5. Italy (9.2%) 6. Germany (5.8%) 7. Luxembourg (5.1%) 8. Netherlands (5.0%) 9. Austria (4.0%).

The unemployment rates above only take into account people who are actively looking for a job. This means job seekers registered at a government's employment office.

Are not taken into account the persons who have been removed from the government's employment office register because their unemployment benefits have expired and they've not re-applied. The official statistics do not take into account either people living in great precarity or exclusion, because they don't have anymore benefits to expect: people depending on minimum social revenues of integration, homeless people, women (often divorced).

Indeed, if such people were taken into account the dismal statistics for example in France would probably be closer to 5 million people representing 20% of the active population.

The reality is staggering in the unemployment and the human toll behind high unemployment. Unemployment corrolates with a rise of murder, poor health conditions, suicides, alcoholism, divorce, homelessness. This is a societal crisis and it will take more than just growth to fight it.