system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: If countries in Europe have unemployment levels of up to 25%, why is an unemployment rate of 8% in the U.S. such a catastrophe?

We were told this in our high school Econ class, but it was never discussed or explained.
gpt
Its a bigger catastrophe in Europe.  Greece and Spain, in particular, are suffering severe social crisis because it it.  European countries, however, have stronger social safety net programs than the US does.  This means being unemployed in Europe isn't as financially devastating to the unemployed person as in the US.