| Consensus | Actual | Previous | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rate | 6.5% | 6.4% | 6.5% |
Highlights
The Eurozone labour market remains very tight. Joblessness fell a further 100,000 in April following a larger revised 105,000 drop in March. Moreover, the latest decline was steep enough to reduce the unemployment rate by a tick to 6.4 percent, a new record low and beneath the market consensus.
The headline dip was mainly due to France, where the national rate fell from 7.4 percent to 7.3 percent, and Italy, where the rate dropped from 7.1 percent to 6.9 percent. The rates in both Germany (3.4 percent) and Spain (11.7 percent) were flat.
Today's update will not prevent the ECB lowering key interest rates next week but it should leave Governing Council members all the more wary about another reduction in July. More generally, today's updates put the region's RPI at 2 and the RPI-P at 3, both indices showing economic activity in general effectively matching market forecasts.
The headline dip was mainly due to France, where the national rate fell from 7.4 percent to 7.3 percent, and Italy, where the rate dropped from 7.1 percent to 6.9 percent. The rates in both Germany (3.4 percent) and Spain (11.7 percent) were flat.
Today's update will not prevent the ECB lowering key interest rates next week but it should leave Governing Council members all the more wary about another reduction in July. More generally, today's updates put the region's RPI at 2 and the RPI-P at 3, both indices showing economic activity in general effectively matching market forecasts.
Market Consensus Before Announcement
Consensus for April's unemployment rate is no change at 6.5 percent. Unemployment in the Eurozone has been running at record lows.
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.
