| Consensus | Actual | Previous | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rate | 6.6% | 6.5% | 6.6% |
Highlights
The Eurozone labour market was again surprisingly firm in March. Joblessness declined a sizeable 121,000 on the month to 11.01 million, its steepest decline since January last year and following a 45,000 drop in February. As a result, the unemployment rate dipped to 6.5 percent, a tick beneath the market consensus and a new record low.
Regionally, the drop in the headline rate reflected falls in all of the larger four member states. The rate in France now stands at 6.9 percent, in Germany at just 2.8 percent, in Italy at 7.8 percent and in Spain at 12.8 percent. Each country matched the overall 0.1 percentage point decline.
The March update will be seen by the ECB's hawks as further reason for the central bank not taking its foot off the tightening pedal tomorrow. The labour market has minimal slack and the potential threat of higher wages to inflation is now all the more obvious. Still, on balance, yesterday's HICP report was probably just about friendly enough to keep any rate hike to 25 basis points. The jobless data put the Eurozone's ECDI at exactly zero and the ECDI-P at 12, both values essentially indicating that overall economic activity is moving in line with expectations.
Regionally, the drop in the headline rate reflected falls in all of the larger four member states. The rate in France now stands at 6.9 percent, in Germany at just 2.8 percent, in Italy at 7.8 percent and in Spain at 12.8 percent. Each country matched the overall 0.1 percentage point decline.
The March update will be seen by the ECB's hawks as further reason for the central bank not taking its foot off the tightening pedal tomorrow. The labour market has minimal slack and the potential threat of higher wages to inflation is now all the more obvious. Still, on balance, yesterday's HICP report was probably just about friendly enough to keep any rate hike to 25 basis points. The jobless data put the Eurozone's ECDI at exactly zero and the ECDI-P at 12, both values essentially indicating that overall economic activity is moving in line with expectations.
Market Consensus Before Announcement
Consensus for March's unemployment rate is no change at 6.6 percent.
Definition
The unemployment rate measures the number of unemployed as a percentage of the labor force.
Description
Unemployment data are closely monitored by the financial markets. These data give a comprehensive report on the state of the economy and its future direction. A rising unemployment rate can be a warning sign of hard times while a low rate can be a warning of inflation as wages are bid up to attract labor.
Unemployment data are expressed in both a numerical value and as a percentage of the labor force. Generally, the definition of those unemployed follows that of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). It states that an unemployed person is one between the ages of 15 to 74 years of age who was not employed during the reference week, had actively sought work during the past four weeks and was ready to begin working immediately or within two weeks. The unemployment rate is the percentage of unemployed persons over the total number of active persons in the labor market. Active persons are those who are either employed or unemployed.
Eurostat provides an unemployment rate for each EU country as well as for the EMU and EU as a whole. It should be noted that the unemployment rate for a country will frequently differ with that reported by the national statistics agency. That is because of the varying interpretations of the ILO definition by member states and Eurostat.
Unemployment data are expressed in both a numerical value and as a percentage of the labor force. Generally, the definition of those unemployed follows that of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). It states that an unemployed person is one between the ages of 15 to 74 years of age who was not employed during the reference week, had actively sought work during the past four weeks and was ready to begin working immediately or within two weeks. The unemployment rate is the percentage of unemployed persons over the total number of active persons in the labor market. Active persons are those who are either employed or unemployed.
Eurostat provides an unemployment rate for each EU country as well as for the EMU and EU as a whole. It should be noted that the unemployment rate for a country will frequently differ with that reported by the national statistics agency. That is because of the varying interpretations of the ILO definition by member states and Eurostat.
