- Chris Williamson, chief economist at survey compiler Markit
The Euro zone's unemployment rate dropped to the lowest level in almost four years in December. According to Eurostat, the number of unemployed declined 49,000 to a total of 16.75 million, pushing the region's jobless rate to 10.4% from 10.5%, the lowest level since September 2011. The largest drop was registered in Spain, where the unemployment rate plunged from 23.6% to 20.8%, whereas in Finland the jobless rate rose the most, from 9.0% to 9.5%. In Germany, the region's powerhouse, the unemployment rate declined to 20-year lows at 6.2% in January. The Euro zone's unemployment reached the peak at 12.1% in March-May 2013, and the rate has been sliding since then. Despite the multi-year low, joblessness remains an acute problem, as it is still well above the 7.5% level seen before the global financial crisis.
A separate report showed prices at factory gates in the Euro bloc fell more than expected in December, underscoring challenges the European Central Bank face to bring inflation to the target. Producer prices declined by 0.8% on month in December after a 0.2% drop in the prior month, compared with a 0.6% decrease expected by economists. Measured on an annual basis, prices at factory gates plunged 3.0% in the reported month. ECB President Mario Draghi promised to increase inflation with a help of monetary policy tools that the central bank still has at its disposal.
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