Subsidized furlough programs keep a lid on eurozone unemployment.

Subsidized furlough programs keep a lid on eurozone unemployment.

A jobseeker interviewing at a job fair in Barcelona, Spain, in September. The unemployment rate in the eurozone ticked up to 8.1 percent in August, from 8 percent the month before.Credit...David Ramos/Getty ImagesBy Jack EwingThe unemployment rate in the eurozone edged up to 8.1 percent in August from 8 percent in July, the European Union said Thursday, as government support cushioned much of the economic impact of the pandemic.But economists fear that the jobless rate could surge when the programs expire, or employers go bankrupt or are forced to lay off workers permanently.Germany, France and many other countries compensate workers for some of the income they lose when their employers put them on furlough or reduced hours. That has a led to relatively modest increases in the jobless rate, which