1.1.3 According to Eurostat, the European Union (EU) statistical office, the unemployment rate in the EU (composed of 28 countries) has steadily increased in the years following the 2007–08 global financial crisis, from a low of 7 percent in 2007 to a peak of 10.9 percent in 2013, with a small reversal in 2014. Yet the average growth rate in the EU 28 countries has followed a much less regular path, decreasing from a peak of 3.1 percent in 2007 to a low of -4.4 percent in 2009 (a recessionary year), returning positive in 2010 and 2011 (respectively, 2.1 percent and 1.7 percent), but turning negative again in 2012 (-0.5 percent), then slightly positive in 2013 (0.2 percent) and slightly accelerating in 2014 (1.4 percent). How can you explain these contrasting trends?