Most Europeans Feel Worst of Crisis to Come on Jobs

Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Most Europeans believe the worst of the economic crisis has yet to feed through to the labor market, the European Union said, citing a Eurobarometer survey.

Some 54 percent of respondents “believe the worst is still to come regarding the impact of the crisis on jobs,” while 38 percent say it already has reached its peak. The poll of more than 30,000 people in 30 countries across Europe was conducted from Oct. 23 through Nov. 18.

“Citizens have clearly identified jobs as their main concern, and the EU must continue to give its full attention and commitment to dealing with the crisis,” Margot Wallstroem, vice president of the European Commission, the EU executive in Brussels, said in a statement.

The number of people employed in the euro region declined 2.1 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the largest drop since the data were first collected in 1996, the EU’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. From the prior quarter, employment fell 0.5 percent.

“Even though the euro zone exited recession in the third quarter and activity is continuing to improve in the fourth quarter, growth is unlikely to be strong enough to generate net jobs for some considerable time,” Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS Global Insight in London, said in a note. “Unemployment still seems likely to rise significantly higher, thereby weighing down on consumer spending.”

Jobless Rate

Europe’s jobless rate has risen to 9.8 percent, the highest since December 1998, and is forecast by the commission to increase to 10.7 percent next year.

“Even if the European economies are showing signs of recovery, concern about the economic situation and unemployment is as widespread as in spring 2009,” the authors of the survey said. “Around half of Europeans consider unemployment to be the most important issue that their country faces.” Joblessness is “the top national concern” in 19 EU member states, up from 18 in the Eurobarometer survey carried out in June and July, today’s report showed.

Some 51 percent of Europeans deem jobs the most important issue, followed by the overall economy at 40 percent and inflation at 19 percent, tied with crime.

“The economic ‘feel-bad’ factor appears to be fading,” the authors of the report said. “For the first time since autumn 2007, short-term expectations about the economic situation are moving in a positive direction.”