-László Andor, EU commissioner for employment
With just a day left before the crucial ECB's meeting, each piece of fundamental data plays a more important role for the policymakers, who try to assess the state of the 18-nation bloc's economy. With inflation at the four-year low, everyone hopes that the situation in the labour market will improve, hence, Draghi might refuse from adding fresh stimulus in the struggling economy.
Nonetheless, the unemployment in the Eurozone remained around record highs, even despite the fact the economy is on a stable footing and the worse is over. The overall jobless rate stood at 11.9% in February, unchanged from January's reading, while still surprising markets to the upside, as investors were betting for a 12.0% level. Although the number of people out of work decline by 35,000 over the period, almost 19 million people are still looking for jobs. High unemployment data do little to help Mario Draghi, who is under pressure amid rising deflation risks.
What is more important, the latest figures highlighted the high level of divergence in employment and social outcomes. The unemployment rate in Europe's powerhouse remained unchanged, while situation in Italy's labour market deteriorated further, with the gauge of unemployment soaring to a fresh high of 13.0%.
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