THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Classes in German are booming across southern Europe as young Spaniards, Greeks and Italians flee their own recession-hit countries to seek employment in the region's powerhouse.
More than 9,000 Spaniards took German courses last year, a jump of 56 percent since 2009, new figures show. Of those studying the language in Madrid, one third were under the age of 25.
Unemployment in Spain stood at 26 percent in January - twice the average for the European Union - while more than half of young people are unemployed.
The classes appear to be paying off, however: in Germany, the number of Spanish workers finding employment rose by just over 12 percent last year. The number of Spaniards living in Berlin alone jumped to 11,473 in 2011 from 8,223 the previous year.
In Greece, where young people alone were facing an unemployment rate of nearly 60 percent last year, enrollment in German classes has surged by 24 percent since the start of the credit crunch. Last year, the number of Greeks working in Germany climbed by around 10%.
Italians were also dusting off their German books, with some 4,700 enrolling in classes last year, an increase of 28 percent since the financial crisis began. Read on and comment » | Jeevan Vasagar, Berlin | Friday, March 01, 2013
