The European Union's unemployment rate fell in June for
the first time in almost two-and-a-half years, a sign that a long deterioration
in the bloc's jobs market may be coming to an end as the economy stabilizes.
The number of jobless people in the countries that use the
euro also fell, albeit modestly, for the first time in two years.
Eurostat, the EU's official statistics agency, said
Wednesday that 10.9% of the work force in the 27 nations that then formed the EU
were unemployed in June, down from 11.0% in May. That is the first fall in the
jobless rate since January 2011.
The number of unemployed in the 17 euro-zone countries
edged down to 19.27 million from 19.29 million, the first decline--albeit a
modest one--since April 2011. The fall wasn't sufficient to move the jobless
rate overall, which held firm at 12.1%--its highest on record--for the fourth
straight month.
Signs that unemployment may be peaking in the EU and the
17 nations that use the euro add to recent evidence from consumer and business
surveys that the region's economy has stabilized in the middle of the year, and
could gather some momentum in the months to come.
Economists say any recovery will be weak in the near term,
and beset by uncertainty due to problems in the euro zone in particular. The
currency bloc's governments are committed to growth-sapping austerity measures,
and businesses are struggling to gain financing to invest due to a hobbled
banking system.
The European Central Bank isn't expected to take action to
support the economy at its meeting Thursday.
Eurostat said in a separate release Wednesday that the
annual inflation rate in the euro zone was unchanged in July at 1.6%, beneath
the ECB's target area of just below 2.0%.
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