News Summary: EU unemployment heading for 20M
Unemployment across euro countries rises to record 12.2 percent in April
BAD TO WORSE: The unemployment rate across the 17 European countries that use the euro hit a record 12.2 percent in April, and the number of unemployed is on track to reach 20 million by year's end.
BITTER MEDICINE: Private companies in Europe are unable to fill the vacuum created by drastically reduced government spending. In the United States, by contrast, governments have imposed far milder spending cuts and tax increases. U.S. unemployment is at 7.5 percent and falling. Consumers and private companies have kept spending, steadily if modestly.
LOST GENERATION: The picture is very stark for the young in Europe. More than half of people ages 16 to 25 in Greece and Spain are unemployed. In Italy, the rate for this group tops 40 percent. For Germany, it's just 7.5 percent.
