EU reports 15-year low unemployment amid stable inflation

(CN) — The European Union is experiencing its lowest unemployment rate in over a decade, according to data published by Eurostat on Thursday.

In December, seasonally adjusted unemployment across the EU fell 0.2 points to 5.9%, representing nearly 13 million people. Young people under the age of 25 experienced a higher rate of unemployment compared to the average European at 14%. An estimated 54,000 more young people were unemployed in December 2023 compared to November.

Slightly more women, 6.2%, experienced joblessness compared to men, 5.7%.

These numbers also reflect a labor market altered by an influx of Ukrainian refugees who fled the war and are allowed to work.

“The rights for beneficiaries of the scheme include access to employment, subject to rules applicable to the profession and to national labor market policies and general conditions of employment,” Eurostat said in its release.

An estimated 288,000 Ukrainian refugees were unemployed in EU member states in December, down from the high of 324,000 last August.

During the same period, the U.S. reported its own unemployment rate at 3.7%.

The EU also reported inflation as a metric of pandemic-recovery and to quantify the toll of Russia’s war on Ukraine. As a whole, the United Nations projects global inflation continuing to fall throughout the year.

With EU inflation at 2.8% in January, the rate reflects a small drop and relative stability following two years of uncertain hikes and drops.

The category of food, alcohol and tobacco tracked the highest rate of inflation in January, just under 6%. Overall, the rate of inflation for these consumable products was 0.3% lower than in December. The inflation rate was 8 points lower in January compared to a year prior. The cost of processed products declined between January and December, while the prices of unprocessed foods have been on the rise since October.

Energy costs, a major driver of inflation from 2021 through 2022, continued to drop in January. Energy inflation fell nearly 7% in January, compared to an energy hike nearing 19% the year prior.

All 20 members of the EU reported increases in prices last month, with Estonia and Croatia reporting the highest inflation rates near 5%. Finland and Italy reported the lowest inflation increases at less than 1% each.

In a release, Luis de Guindos, vice president of the European Central Bank, still attributed inflation rates to the EU’s slow economy along with slower global trade and the bank’s increasing of policy rates.

“Inflation,’” said de Guindos. “It has curtailed purchasing power, causing consumption to fall.”

As a consequence, the European Central Bank has driven up policy rates, with the goal of seeing inflation drop below 2%. Economists at the bank currently hope to meet their goal by the end of 2025.

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