Bleak prospects for unemployed in Europe

It is not a happy Christmas for thousands of people who are unable to find jobs in countries throughout Europe, including in Malta. After many years of study at colleges and universities, many are finding all the doors for jobs closed in their face.

Joblessness is demoralising, which is why many get so frustrated and resort to angry demonstrations in city centres.

Faced with such a problem, more and more young people are today opting to emigrate to countries offering job prospects. This is what is happening in Portugal and Spain, where unemployment is high.

The International Labour Organisation says that “we’re facing the biggest youth unemployment crisis in a generation” and, according to the BBC, which has this week been running a programme on the subject, thousands of young unemployed professionals are escaping Portugal’s crippling economic crisis by finding jobs in former colonies, such as Brazil and Angola. Many Spaniards are leaving for Brazil, other Latin American countries and also for the United States.

The situation in Spain is worse than that in Portugal. Unemployment in Spain stands at over 22 per cent but the joblessness rate among the young is much higher at 43 per cent.

These are harrowing figures. It is no wonder that there is so much anger over what many see as the inability of the politicians to get to grips with the economic difficulties facing their countries. The problem is that the outlook does not look good, with forecasts of lower economic growth rates further dampening the spirits of those who are so eager to start a new life or to rejoin the labour market.

It is not easy to re-establish confidence when it is taking the eurozone leaders so long to grapple with the euro crisis.

Warnings of further downgradings by credit ratings agencies and jittery financial markets are making things more difficult as governments jostle with plans to restore order to their finances, reduce the deficit and take control of their debt.

The festive season is likely to make many forget the financial troubles but, clearly, all hands would have to be put on deck the moment this happy period is over in order to see how Europe can retrace the road back to real economic growth.

Malta too needs to bring down the deficit and the debt that has accumulated over the years though the situation here is not as bad as that in so many other countries.

What is happening in Malta can be put in better perspective when it is considered against the jobless rate in other EU countries. In a EU unemployment table, drawn up on November 29, Malta stands in 23rd place, not a mean feat considering that the island too had to face some of the difficulties brought about by the credit crunch and, subsequently, by the recession.

At 22.6 per cent, the rate in Spain is the highest. Greece, which has given Europe so many headaches, has a jobless rate of 17.6 per cent and the rate in Ireland, for many years called the Celtic tiger for the sharp progress it made after joining the EU, is 14.2 per cent.

All these figures, and those for most of the rest, are no consolation to those in Malta who are unable to find jobs. The task in Malta is no less hard for, besides generating jobs for those registering for work, the country also needs to raise the female participation rate in the labour market.