There was a lot of fanfare in August when the eurozone finally emerged from official recession in August with the first signs of [barely there] positive economic growth, but as the latest unemployment numbers aptly demonstrate, stagnation-level growth rates do not a true recovery make, via CNBC:

Unemployment in the euro zone was 12.2 percent in September, stubbornly stuck at a record high, signalling that the region’s faltering economic recovery is yet to be felt in the job market.

The figure is unchanged from the previous month, according to revised data from European statistics agency, Eurostat. The number of people unemployed in the region increased by 60,000 in September to a total of 19.4 million. …

By contrast, in September 2012 the jobless rate was 11.6 percent and 12.1 percent in July 2013 — highlighting fears that the region’s employment picture is deteriorating and could thwart a nascent economic recovery.

As the 17-country euro zone struggled to control its three-year crisis over too much debt, governments cut back on spending and introduced tax hikes. This had a damping effect on the region’s economy, with a knock-on effect on job numbers. …

September’s employment rate was the same as August’s, with the very important caveat that the absolute number of unemployed in the eurozone actually rose by about 60,000 for a brand-new total of 19.5 million — does that situation sound at all familiar? Labor force participation rate, anyone?

Perhaps even worse, the under-25 youth unemployment rate once again rose from 24 percent in August to 24.1 percent (with more than half of young people unemployed in Greece, Spain, and Croatia) which means that too many young people are still missing out on the crucial years of career-building that can help build the foundations for a strong, thriving economy in the future. Worse and worse.