Since this time a year ago, another 1.9m people, equivalent to more than half the working-age population of Finland, have joined the already record-breaking unemployment queues in the eurozone.
The joblessness rate across the 17-nation bloc hit 11.9 per cent in January, an average that glosses over Spain’s 26.2 per cent rate, more than five times Germany’s. Among the young, the statistics are even worse. If you are Spanish, under 25 and employed, you are in a minority. In Italy, close to 39 per cent of under-25s are jobless.
The economy is shrinking rather than growing and all these people without work are naturally spending less, so inflation is falling. Banks, at least in crisis-hit countries, are not on the whole lending to businesses and businesses are not investing.