Eurozone unemployment unchanged at record highJanuary 8, 2014 - 14:39 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Eurozone unemployment was unchanged at a record high for the eighth month in a row in November, data showed on Wednesday, Jan 8, but retail sales made the biggest monthly jump in 12 years, according to Reuters. The jobless rate in the 17 countries using the euro stood at 12.1 percent with 19.2 million of people without work, the EU's statistics office Eurostat said. Unemployment among those younger than 25 was steady at 24.2 percent for the second consecutive month. But eurozone retail sales, a proxy for consumer demand, rebounded 1.4 percent on the month in November after a 0.4 percent decline in October, showing the fastest monthly increase since November 2001. Compared with the same period of last year, the volume of sales rose 1.6 percent after a 0.3 percent fall in October, delivering the strongest rise since February 2008. The monthly expansion was led by a 1.9 percent rise in the volume of sales of all non-food products, except car fuels. The bloc's two largest economies -- Germany and France -- showed a 1.5 percent and 2.1 percent growth in sales respectively in November, despite a deterioration in French consumer and businesses morale in November. In Portugal and Spain sales continued to improve in November with the volume rising 3.1 percent on the month, the strongest in entire eurozone, and 1.9 percent respectively. Related links: Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Ucom Celebrates Telecommunication Day May 17 commemorates the founding of the International Telecommunication Union on May 17, 1865. Armenian, Azerbaijani heads of parliament meet in Switzerland President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Border residents overnight on highway to protest Armenia’s Residents of Kirants continue to express outrage over the government’s decision to cede land to Azerbaijan. Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. |