- Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit
The jobless rate in the 19-nation currency bloc declined more than expected in July, reaching the lowest level in more than three years. The Euro zone unemployment stood at 10.9% in the reported month, the first time below 11% since February 2012, and compared with 11.1% registered in June. In the 28-member European Union, the jobless rate was 9.5%, the lowest level since June 2011. There remained a huge disparity between European countries. The lowest jobless rates were in Germany, at 4.7%, followed by the Czech Republic and Malta, both at 5.1%. The highest rate, of 25.0%, was in Greece, followed by Spain at 22.2%. Despite its multi-year low, unemployment in the Euro bloc remains a hurdle, as it still stood well above the 7.5% levels seen before the outburst of the global financial crisis.
Meanwhile, Italy's final 2015 second-quarter GDP data showed that the Euro zone's third biggest economy expanded at a rate of 0.3% on a quarterly basis, keeping the same pace of growth booked in the first three months of this year. On an annual basis, the country's economic output increased 0.7% in the reported period, compared to 0.1% growth booked in the previous quarter. The economic recovery may be attributed to a weakening Euro, lower oil prices and the quantitative easing programme enacted by the European Central Bank.
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