-
EU Says Euro Zone to Shrink in 2013 as Unemployment Rises
The euro-area economy will shrink for a second year in 2013, driving unemployment higher as governments, consumers and companies curb spending, the European Commission said. The 17-nation euro zone’s gross domestic product will fall 0.3 percent this year, compared with a November prediction of 0.1 percent growth, the Brussels-based commission forecast today. Unemployment will climb to 12.2 percent, up from the previous estimate of 11.8 percent and 11.4 percent last year, it said. Europe’s labor market “is a serious concern,” Marco Buti, head of the commission’s economics department, said in a statement. ... (full story)