Eurozone economy sees fastest growth in over a decade

2 Nov 17

The economy of the eurozone grew by 2.5% over the year to September, the highest rate of growth since 2001, figures from the statistical office of the European Union found.

Meanwhile, unemployment in the euro area had also fallen to its lowest level since January 2009, according to the Eurostat data.

GDP rose by 0.6% in both the euro area and the EU’s 28 member states between July and September, compared with the previous quarter. In the second quarter of 2017, GDP had grown by 0.7% in both zones.

Compared to the same time last year, GDP was 2.5% higher in the third quarter of 2017.

Of the EU’s 28 member states, Germany had the strongest growth with growth 2.1% expected for the year.

Inflation in the bloc was estimated to be 1.4% in October 2017, down from 1.5% the previous month.

The unemployment rate in eurozone was 8.9% in September this year, down from 9.0% in August and from 9.9% in September 2016. Unemployment across the wider EU was slightly lower at 7.5%.

Eurostat estimated that 18.446 million men and women in the 28 European member states were unemployed in September. Of these, 14.513 million were in the euro area.

The lowest unemployment rates in September 2017 were recorded in the Czech Republic at 2.7%, Germany at 3.6% and Malta at 4.1%. The highest unemployment rates were in Greece, which had a rate of 21.0% in July, and Spain where unemployment has hit 16.7%. 

Did you enjoy this article?

Related articles

Have your say

CIPFA latest