Europe's Youth Unemployment Nightmare In 18 Charts
AP Photo/Christian LutzConcerns are starting to re-emerge in the euro zone.
Yesterday's fourth-quarter GDP results were worse than expected, confirming fears that the pace of contraction in the euro-zone economy is accelerating.
These disappointing growth figures are tied directly to the biggest problem that the eurozone now must face – staggering levels of youth unemployment across the region.
Governments on the euro periphery – which desperately need to institute difficult economic reforms to put budgets on sustainable paths – receive little support from a younger generation that feels like its opportunities and its future have been crushed already by the very same actors.
Societe Generale cross-asset strategists highlighted youth unemployment and the danger it poses to the eurozone in a recent note, writing, "Economic crisis in developed countries have reinforced unemployment, especially with the youth...With lower population support, large upheavals could threaten government stability."