EU Economy in September: Unemployment is Flatlining yet Consumer Prices are Going Down



09/30/2015 4:41 PM


Consumer prices in the euro area in September 2015 decreased by 0.1% compared to September last year, said Eurostat.



Images Money
The deflation in the euro area has been recorded for the first time since March 2015.

In August, inflation stood at 0.1% in annual terms.

Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, on average, forecasted zero inflation in September.

The main components of inflation in September in the euro area - food, alcohol/tobacco (price increase by 1.4% compared to 1.3% in August), services (1.3% in September and 1.2% in August) , non-energy production (0.3% and 0.4%) and energy (-8.9% and - 7.2%).

- The resumption of easing inflation, apparently, has become a temporary failure due to oil prices. In the absence of significant inflationary pressures, the ECB is likely to intensify discussion of additional monetary stimulus, - an economist at Natixis in Frankfurt Johannes Gareis said to Bloomberd.

In Spain, the deflation in September was 1.2% in annual terms, in Germany, the decline in consumer prices was renewed for the first time in 8 months and amounted to 0.2%.

As a result of the September meeting, the ECB recently downgraded the outlook for consumer prices: in the euro area, inflation is expected at 0.1% in 2015, in 2016, estimated growth has been reduced from 1.5% to 1.1%, in 2017 - from 1.8% to 1.7%.

At the same time, unemployment in the 19 countries of the euro zone in August 2015 was 11% - just like in July. This is the minimum to March 2012.

The unemployment rate for July, revised up from the previously announced level of 10.9% to 11%.

Analysts, surveyed by Bloomberg, have not expected any changes in unemployment in August compared to July's first estimate.

Unemployment in the EU (28 countries) was 9.5% in August 2015 and did not change in July 2015.

Eurostat considers that unemployment in August 2015 was 23.022 million men and women in the EU-28, 17.603 million of which are resting in the euro area (EU-19).
Estonia experienced the largest decrease in unemployment (from 8.0% to 5.7% in the period from July 2014 to July 2015); decrease was marked in Slovakia (from 13.2% to 11.1%), Spain (with 24.2% to 22.2%), Bulgaria (from 11.4% to 9.7%), Ireland (from 11.1% to 9.5%) and Poland (from 8.7% to 7, 2%).

The increase in unemployment was registered in Austria (from 5.6% to 5.7%), Belgium (8.6% to 8.8%), France (from 10.4% to 10.8%) and Finland (8 8% to 9.7%).

source: bloomberg.com


More