Unemployment in Western and Southern Europe in select periods 1950-1993

Following the Second World War, the emergence of the welfare state in Europe saw governments prioritize full employment and invest in social security on scales that had not been observed before. There were regional differences between Western Europe (including Northern Europe) and Mediterranean Europe due to varying economic and developmental factors. Generally, employment was higher in the continent's south, although it was still extremely low in the period between 1950 and 1973, at just 3.6 percent. This period was also characterized by a wave of economic migration from Southern Europe to the north, where the demand for labor in the west could offset any surplus in the south. The decline of Western Europe's industrial output in the last quarter of the century combined with a series of economic recessions between 1973 and 1994, leading to rising unemployment in both regions of Europe. Between 1984 and 1993, unemployment rose in the west and south to 6.8 percent and 12.2 percent, respectively. Unemployment in Southern Europe also rose at a higher rate than in the north, as unemployment was around 33 percent higher in the early period, compared to a 45 percent difference in the period between 1984 and 1993.