Eurozone unemployment drops to three-year low
Eurozone unemployment has fallen to a three-year low, surprising economists by dropping as low as 10.9 per cent in July.
Unemployment figures were forecast to remain static at 11.1 per cent, but Eurozone recovery has given job growth a bigger push than expected, according to new figures released by statistics agency Eurostat today.
Some 213,000 people came out of unemployment between June and July, although unemployment varies wildly between the 19 countries in the single-currency bloc.
Greek unemployment remains at 25 per cent and Spain is not far behind at over 22 per cent. Meanwhile, Germany has the area’s lowest unemployment, at just 4.7 per cent.
Still, both Greece and Spain have had some of the biggest drops in unemployment over the past year, suggesting recovery is underway.
Dropping unemployment figures are a contrast to yesterday’s dull inflation figures, showing that Eurozone inflation, although holding steady at 0.2 per cent, remains well below the European Central Bank’s target of just under two per cent.