11 Facts That Show That Europe Is Heading Into An Economic DepressionMichael Snyder, Contributor 1. The economies of 17 out of the 27 countries in the EU have contracted for at least two consecutive quarters. 2. Unemployment in the eurozone has hit a brand new all-time record high of 11.7 percent. 3. The unemployment rate in Portugal is now up to 16.3 percent. A year ago it was just 13.7 percent. 4. The unemployment rate in Greece is now up to 25.4 percent. A year ago it was just 18.4 percent. 5. The unemployment rate in Spain has hit a brand new all-time record high of 26.2 percent. How much higher can it possibly go? This is already higher than the unemployment rate than the United States ever reached during the Great Depression of the 1930s. 6. Youth unemployment levels in both Greece and Spain are rapidly approaching the 60 percent level. 7. Earlier this month, Moodys stripped France of its AAA credit rating, and wealthy individuals are leaving France in droves as the socialists implement plans to raise taxes to very high levels on the rich. 8. Industrial production is collapsing all over Europe. Just check out these numbers You dont have to be an economic genius to understand that the perpetual uncertainty over the Eurozones future has led to a widespread freeze on industrial investment and development. Industrial production is collapsing at an accelerating rate, falling 7% year-on-year in Spain and Greece, 4.8% in Italy, and 2.1% in France. 9. There are even trouble signs in the stable economies in Europe. In Germany, factory orders in September were down 3.3 percent from the month before, and retail sales in October declined 2.8 percent from the previous month. 10. The debt of the Greek government is now projected to hit 189 percent of GDP by the end of this year. 11. The Greek economy has shrunk by more than 7 percent this year, and it is being projected that the Greek economy will contract by another 4.5 percent in 2013. But sometimes you cant really get a feel for how bad things really are over there just from the raw economic numbers. Many people that are living through these depression-like conditions are totally giving in to despair. Just check out the following example from an RT article from earlier this year A 61-year-old Greek pensioner has hung himself from a tree in a public park after succumbing to the pressure of crushing debt. A note in his pocket indicates he is merely the latest in a rash of economic crisis-induced suicides. The pensioners lifeless body was found dangling by an attendant in a public park not far from his home in the suburb of Nikaia, Athens. The attendant also found a suicide note in the mans pocket, The Athens news reports. The man, identifying himself as Alexandros, said he was a man of few vices who worked all day. However, he blamed himself from committing one horrendous crime: becoming a professional at the age of 40 and plunging himself into debt. He referred to himself as a 61-year-old idiot who had to pay, hoping his grandchildren would not be born in Greece, as the countrys prospects were so bleak. This is one reason why I try so hard to encourage people to prepare for what is coming. There is hope in understanding what is coming and there is hope in getting prepared. You dont want to end up getting blindsided by the coming crisis and end up sitting on a park bench trying to figure out if life is still worth living or not. Life is most definitely worth living. Yes, a storm is coming and the world is going to become incredibly unstable in more ways than one. But if you understand what is coming and you work hard to prepare, then you and your family will have a chance to thrive even in the midst of the storm. Please learn from what is happening over in Europe. The economic horror show that is unfolding over there is going to come to America too, and time is running out. This article first appeared here at the American Dream. Michael Snyder is a writer, speaker and activist who writes and edits his own blogs The American Dream and Economic Collapse Blog. Follow him on Twitter here. linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 