Economic Stagnation in Europe

What does economic stagnation in Europe look like graphically? See the graph above showing a persistent 4% gap between the jobless rate in Europe vs. the USA.

"If the European Union were a state in the USA it would belong to the poorest group of states. France, Italy, Great Britain and Germany have lower GDP per capita than all but four of the states in the United States. In fact, GDP per capita is lower in the vast majority of the EU-countries (EU 15) than in most of the individual American states. This puts Europeans at a level of prosperity on par with states such as Arkansas, Mississippi and West Virginia."

Quote is from the report "EU vs. USA" by the Swedish think-tank Timbro.

Exception: Ireland is booming, see posting above.