By Ezra
Just fine, as it turns out. Steven Hill offers a quick overview of the European economy, and it appears to be doing rather nicely. Folks forget how big Europe is -- the largest trading bloc in the world -- and how well it's actually doing. Between 2000 and 20005, Europe's GDP growth was basically equal to ours. In 2006, they pulled ahead. Moreover, next time you hear about Europe's dread levels of unemployment, keep this in mind:
Half of the E.U. 15 nations have experienced effective full employment during this decade, and unemployment rates have been the same as or lower than the rate in the United States. Unemployment for the entire European Union, including the still-emerging nations of Central and Eastern Europe, stands at a historic low of 6.7 percent. Even France, at 8 percent, is at its lowest rate in 25 years.
That's still higher than U.S. unemployment, which is 4.6 percent, but let's not forget that many of the jobs created here pay low wages and include no benefits. In Europe, the jobless still have access to health care, generous replacement wages, job-retraining programs, housing subsidies and other benefits. In the United States, by contrast, the unemployed can end up destitute and marginalized.
Not all unemployment is created equal.
