Lakhota
Diamond Member
By Travis Waldron
Continuing efforts to cut spending and reduce deficits have driven the Eurozone into its second recession in just four years, as its economy shrank for the second consecutive quarter. Struggling countries like Spain, Greece, Portugal, and Ireland are still pursuing deficit reduction to rein in their debt, cutting spending to the bone to do so. The spending cuts have driven unemployment to record levels and threatened the continent with a recession that became official during the last quarter, Bloomberg reports:
The euro-area economy was pushed into a recession for the second time in four years as trade slowed and government spending declined.
Gross domestic product in the 17-nation currency bloc slipped 0.1 percent in the third quarter from the previous three months, when it fell 0.2 percent, the European Unions statistics office in Luxembourg said today, confirming an initial estimate published on Nov. 15.
Eurozone unemployment reached 26 percent in September. The youth unemployment rate has topped 50 percent and resulted in a lost generation for the continents young adults. Still, the pursuit of austerity continues.
Austerity Pushes Europe Into Its Second Recession In Four Years | ThinkProgress