Euro Area: Unemployment rate drops in May
The unemployment rate fell to a new record-low of 6.6% in May from 6.7% in April.
Looking at countries, 10 economies saw their unemployment rates falling in May, including Germany, Italy and Spain. Meanwhile, four economies saw their unemployment rates stable, including France, while four economies saw their unemployment rates increase, including the Netherlands.
Disparities in the labor market among core and periphery countries persist. Spain (13.1%) and Greece (12.7%, data refers to April) are the economies with the highest unemployment rates. At the other end of the spectrum, Germany (2.8%) and Malta (3.1%) have the lowest unemployment rates.
Commenting on the release, Bert Colijn, senior economist at ING, stated:
“At this point, wage pressures from the labour market persist. While substantially higher wages still have to materialise, wage growth is still set to trend markedly higher in the quarters ahead. So while the economy is already slowing significantly, the labour market’s traditional lag keeps the unemployment outlook quite rosy for the coming period.”