Money Buzz! Europa

Tag: euro area

  • Euro area unemployment at 8.1% in August 2020

    Euro area unemployment at 8.1% in August 2020

    In August 2020, the euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate has continued to rise for 5 consecutive months, reaching 8.1%.

    The same trend has applied to the EU unemployment rate that reached 7.4% in August, show the latest figures published by Eurostat.

    Eurostat estimates that 15.603 million men and women in the EU, of whom 13.188 million in the euro area, were unemployed in August 2020.

    Compared with July 2020, the number of persons unemployed increased by 238.000 in the EU and by 251.000 in the euro area.

    In August 2020, 3.032 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of whom 2.460 million were in the euro area. In August 2020, the youth unemployment rate was 17.6% in the EU and 18.1% in the euro area, up from 17.4% and 17.8% respectively in the previous month.

    Compared with July 2020, youth unemployment increased by 64.000 in the EU and by 69.000 in the euro area.

    In August 2020, the unemployment rate for women was 7.6% in the EU, up from 7.5% in July 2020.

    The unemployment rate for men was 7.1% in August 2020, stable compared with July 2020.

  • Annual inflation down to 0.3% in the euro area

    Annual inflation down to 0.3% in the euro area

    In April 2020, a month marked by COVID-19 containment measures in all countries, the euro area annual inflation rate was 0.3%, down from 0.7% in March. A year earlier, the rate was 1.7%.

    European Union annual inflation was 0.7% in April 2020, down from 1.2% in March. A year earlier, the rate was 1.9%.

    These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

    The lowest annual rates were registered in Slovenia (-1.3%), Cyprus (-1.2%), Estonia and Greece (both -0.9%).

    The highest annual rates were recorded in Czechia (3.3%), Poland (2.9%) and Hungary (2.5%). Compared with March, annual inflation fell in twenty-six Member States and remained stable in one.

    In April, the highest contribution to the annual euro area inflation rate came from food, alcohol & tobacco (+0.67 percentage points, pp), followed by services (+0.52 pp), non-energy industrial goods (+0.09 pp) and energy (-0.97 pp).

  • Industrial production down by 11.3% in euro area in March 2020

    Industrial production down by 11.3% in euro area in March 2020

    In March 2020, the COVID-19 containment measures widely introduced by EU nations had a significant impact, as industrial production fell by 11.3% in the euro area and by 10.4% in the EU, compared with February 2020, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

    In February 2020, industrial production fell by 0.1% in the euro area and remained stable in the EU.

    In March 2020 compared with March 2019, industrial production decreased by 12.9% in the euro area and by 11.8% in the EU.

    In the euro area in March 2020, compared with February 2020, production of durable consumer goods fell by 26.3%, capital goods by 15.9%, intermediate goods by 11.0%, energy by 4.0% and non-durable consumer goods by 1.6%.

    In the EU, production of durable consumer goods fell by 23.8%, capital goods by 15.1%, intermediate goods by 9.9%, energy by 3.5% and non-durable consumer goods by 1.2%.

    Italy tops industrial production decline

    Among Member States for which data are available, the largest decreases in industrial production were registered in Italy (-28.4%), Slovakia (-20.3%) and France (-16.4%).

    The highest increases were observed in Ireland (+15.5%), Greece and Finland (both +1.9%) and Lithuania (+0.7%).