The 1% YoY inflation rate was the highest since Feb. 2009. No breakdown is available yet but comps with weak early 2009 food and energy prices are the likely culprits.
The rate of unemployment, meanwhile, rose to 10% in December from a revised 9.9% in November. But the figure was below expectations, indicating that although businesses continue to cut costs, they are doing so at a slower rate.
While that was the highest rate since August 1998, Eurostat had originally reported the November rate was 10%.(…)
The country breakdown of the Eurostat survey shows that unemployment was stable in the two largest economies. The German rate was unchanged at 7.5%, while in France it also held steady at 10%. Italy, however, reported a two percentage point increase to 8.5%. In Spain, the rate edged up to 19.5% in December from 19.4% a month earlier, Eurostat said.
In the euro zone, the number of people without jobs rose only a little to 15.763 million, while the number of people in the 27-member EU without jobs rose marginally to 23.012 million.
Related posts:
- Euro-Zone Inflation Accelerates
- Euro-Zone Inflation Slows
- Euro Area Annual Inflation Down to 1.4%
- Asia Inflation Fears Point to Likely Rate Rises
- Deflation Threat for Euro Zone
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