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Economic recovery remains slow in the United States and the 16-member euro area, with both reporting 10% unemployment rates, according to the New York Times. Unemployment in the larger, 27-member European Union was 9.5% in November 2009.
In November 2009, the euro area lost 102,000 jobs, while the Unites States reported an increase of 4,000 jobs. However, the United States' good news was short-lived, as 16,000 job losses were added to October's revised tally, bringing the country's net job losses in 2009 to 85,000.
Unemployment rates vary widely in Europe. The Netherlands has the lowest at 3.9%, while Latvia has the highest at 22.3%. France and Germany, with unemployment rates of 10% and 7.6%, respectively, had established programs offering support to companies putting workers on shorter hours to alleviate the effects of recession, which has helped to keep unemployment rates relatively low in these countries.