Everyone is pro-growth and pro-employment. So, when an economy stagnates and unemployment rises, there is always concern. In Europe, real GDP remains below where it was at the end of 2007. That is, the economies in the euro area and the broader European Union (EU) have not collectively returned to the level of economic activity they enjoyed more than six years ago!  Unsurprisingly, as the real economy has languished, unemployment across the EU has risen, going from a low of below 7% to its current level of 10.6%.