MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Third of Europeans “very concerned” with potential loss of jobs

Spain tops the list of EU unemployment with four million out of jobs (17.9%)

A third of European workers are “very concerned” that they could lose their jobs as result of the financial crisis, an EU survey suggests. EU said six in 10 Europeans felt the worst of the economic crisis was to come, and only 28% said it had passed.

Baltic countries felt most pessimistic about the economy, while Swedes and Danes said the downturn had peaked.

The survey came as Spain reported its jobless rate, the highest in the EU, hit 17.9% in the second quarter with four million out of a job. The rate in Latvia is 16.3%; in Estonia, 15.6%, while the best performers are Netherlands with 3.2% and Austria, 4.3%.

The survey suggested that 32% of Europeans in work feared that they may lose their job in the future.

However, more people were worried that their partner (38%) or their children (47%) would lose their jobs.

“Understandably Europeans are concerned about the impact of the crisis on their jobs and families,” said Vladimir Spidia, commissioner for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities.

The EU said the survey also suggested the level of concern about job security in a country was linked to the level of unemployment, with the citizens of those countries which have experienced the most job losses also most concerned about job cuts.