unemployment

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has told a Greek newspaper he believes austerity measures in the crisis-hit country are working, despite growing hardship and high unemployment.

Europe’s crisis-torn nations are paving an escape route to recovery.

FIVE years into the Great Depression, one out of five workers in the United States was unemployed. The economy was nearly 20 percent smaller in 1934 than it had been at the peak, in 1929. The Greeks can only wish they had it so good.

Fears grew Thursday that the bailout program for Greece might hit a roadblock, after talks between representatives of international lenders and Greek government officials stalled.

Arriving for a European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras stressed that Greece is struggling with historically unprecedented rates of unemployment

European leaders are gathered in Brussels for another summit, facing new concerns that their austerity policies are adding to the continent's unemployment problem and weakening the chances for an economic recovery.

Greece's jobless rate fell in December for the first time since a crippling recession began five years ago, helped by a bailout deal that propped up companies' willingness to hire in the short-term.

Inflation fell in the euro zone in February and joblessness rose to an all-time high, highlighting the impact of the bloc's debt crisis.

The brutal recession that drove Greece to the brink of social breakdown and threatened to push Athens out of the euro zone is finally coming to an end, but the recovery will not ease a crippling jobless rate any time soon, the Finance Minister says.

Official data Friday painted a far from encouraging picture of the European economy, with unemployment running at record highs in the eurozone while inflation fell sharply, highlighting the weakness of consumer demand.