France’s Labor Ministry has announced that the unemployment rate in the country has hit a new high in November. According to official statistics released on Wednesday, 3.488 million people claimed jobless benefits last month, with figures showing an increase of 27,400 people joining job-seekers ranks compared to October. The new numbers for the end of November also indicated a 0.8-percent rise over... 

While US lawmakers spar over extending unemployment benefits, out-of-work Americans could wake up on December 28 to find themselves unable to afford life’s basic necessities. Barring last-minute action by Congress, the long-term unemployment insurance program will expire on Saturday, leaving 1.3 million Americans to fend for themselves as they continue to look for jobs in an economy that’s still... 

Spaniards wait in line at a government employment office in the Madrid suburb of Santa Eugenia. Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) says the country’s population is shrinking at an accelerating pace amid soaring unemployment. The INE said on Tuesday that nearly 260,000 people moved from the crisis-hit country in the first half of 2013, while only 134,312 migrated to the country. This left... 

Italy’s economy shrinks more than previously estimated in the first quarter of 2013. Italy’s economy has contracted more than initially estimated in the first quarter of 2013, marking the seventh quarterly contraction in a row, the country’s statistical agency says. Figures from the national statistical agency, Istat, showed on Monday that Italy’s gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by... 

A news survey shows that most French people disapprove of socialist President Francois Hollande’s leadership and believe that the European Union (EU) is led in the wrong direction. The survey, carried out by Gallup in six EU countries and released on Wednesday, indicated 51 percent of the French disapprove of Hollande’s leadership role in Europe. Hollande’s popularity, which had... 

The August jobs report was dismal for plenty of reasons, but perhaps most striking was the picture it painted of racial inequality in the job market. Black unemployment surged to 16.7% in August, its highest level since 1984, while the unemployment rate for whites fell slightly to 8%, the Labor Department reported. “This month’s numbers continue to bear out that longstanding pattern that... 

Depending on which path the economy takes – the high growth of the mid-1990s, moderate growth or little growth – joblessness could stay high for up to 11 years, a new study for the Center for Economic Policy and Research says. The study’s results prompted Sen. Al Franken and Rep. Keith Ellison, both D-Minn., to demand again that Congress pass legislation to retain up to 900,000...