Submitted by Taps Coogan on the 21st of March 2018 to The Sounding Line.
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As the following chart from Statista shows, real wages have been falling in multiple countries across the EU since 2010. Finland, Belgium, the UK, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Portugal, Cyprus, and Greece have all seen significant declines in real working wages over the past seven years. Flat wages over such a long period would be a concern. Outright declines, such as these, speak to deep economic problems. The 19.1% decline in working wages for Greeks lucky enough to have held on to a job is approaching the magnitude of the decline in wages in the US during the Great Depression.
You will find more infographics at Statista
We have discussed the economic under performance of the EU and the Eurozone on several occasions here at The Sounding Line. As of the end of 2016, the Eurozone had not created any net employment since the financial crisis despite its population growing by over six million people. Several Eurozone countries have seen nearly the slowest inflation adjusted growth in the world and those countries in Europe that first adopted the Euro have seen the slowest growth in Europe. Several have the highest ratios of bad debts in the world.
What is most amazing about the whole affair is that it has gone on as long as it has without more significant political ramifications.
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