Press Release: EU Employment and Social Situation: Quarterly Review analyses deepening social crisis

The employment and social situation in the EU remained critical in the fourth quarter of 2012 with employment receding overall and unemployment rising further, while households' financial situation remained serious according to the European Commission's March 2013 Employment and Social Situation Quarterly Review.

The adverse effects of public budget cuts and tax increases on employment and living standards are increasingly apparent in certain Member States. The Review also notes that net immigration from outside the EU has slowed down and that the crisis has adversely affected fertility.

• Primary Source

EurActiv, 27.03.13: Crisis-hit Europeans battling financial distress: EU report http://www.euractiv.com/socialeurope/report-europeans-experience-fina-news-518758

BBC News, 02.04.2013: Eurozone unemployment rate at record high http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22000996

Deutesche Welle, 02.04.13: Eurozone jobs crisis far from bottoming out http://www.dw.de/eurozone-jobs-crisis-far-from-bottoming-out/a-16714259

France 24, 02.04.2013: Eurozone jobless rate hits high of 12% in February http://www.france24.com/en/20130402-eurozone-jobless-record-high-12-percent-february

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