- Eurostat
Employment in the Euro zone increased in the final quarter of 2015 as the currency bloc's gradual recovery continued. Employment across the region climbed 0.3% quarter-on-quarter in the three months ending December, according to Eurostat. Measured on an annual basis, the gauge rose 1.2% during the reported period. There are 151.9 million people employed in the Euro bloc, but some 10.3% of Europeans remain out of work, the lowest level in more than four years. Yet, the Euro zone's unemployment remained well above the 7.5% rate seen before the global financial crisis.
Meanwhile, in France, the Euro zone's second biggest economy, inflation turned negative for the first time in nearly a year in February, according to INSEE. Consumer prices declined 0.2%, following the 0.2% gain in January, recording the first fall in prices since March 2015, when the CPI dropped 0.1%, and was also the biggest after a 0.3% decrease in February last year. Measured on a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.3% last month following the 1.0% decline in January. Year-on-year, EU harmonized prices slid 0.1% as estimated after climbing 0.3% each in the previous two months. Compared to January, the harmonized index of consumer prices gained 0.3%, in line with expectations.
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