With a total of 17.56m people now out of work, unemployment in the Eurozone hit 11.1% in May.
Eurozone marks its highest level since 1995, according to EU statistics body Eurostat. Unemployment in the market has been rising for the past 14 months mainly in the Eurozone’s manufacturing sector.
Its Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) is stuck at 45.1 since June. Any figure below 50 indicates contraction.
The survey’s employment index fell to 46.7 in June, its lowest since January 2010, from 47.1 in the previous month, signalling accelerating job cuts.
“Companies are clearly preparing for worse to come, cutting back on both staff numbers and stocks of raw materials at the fastest rates for two-and-a-half years,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at data provider Markit.
