Eurozone unemployment rate held steady at the lowest level seen since early 2009 in August, data from Eurostat showed Monday.
Separately, a private survey showed that stronger manufacturing output growth and capacity constraints in the currency bloc drove job creation to a survey record-high in September.
The jobless rate was 9.1 percent in August, the same as in July. This was the lowest rate since February 2009.
There were 14.751 million unemployed in the euro area. The number of people out of work decreased by 42,000 from July and by 1.319 million from the previous year.
The unemployment rate among youth aged below 25, remained stable at an elevated 18.9 percent in August.
The EU28 unemployment rate dropped marginally to 7.6 percent in August from 7.7 percent in July. This was the lowest rate recorded in the EU28 since November 2008.
Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates in August were recorded in the Czech Republic, Germany and Malta. Meanwhile, the highest unemployment rate was seen in Greece, at 21.2 percent in June.
IHS Markit survey showed that the euro area manufacturing sector grew the most in over six-and-a-half years in September.
The final manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index climbed to a 79-month high of 58.1 in September from 57.4 in August, data from IHS Markit showed. The flash score was 58.2.
The score suggested expansion for the fifty-first month in a row. At 57.4, the average reading over the third quarter was the highest since the opening quarter of 2011.
Production grew the most in almost six-and-a-half years in September and new orders growth almost matched the 76-month record seen in June.
The steep increase in backlogs of work encouraged manufacturers to add more staff. Employment grew at the greatest extent since the series began in June 1997.
The upturn remained broad-based by nation, with all eight of the surveys comprising the euro area average reporting growth.
The German manufacturing sector logged its strongest performance over six years in September.
The headline IHS Markit/BME factory PMI improved to 60.6 in September, in line with flash estimate, from 59.3 in August. This was the highest reading since April 2011.
The French manufacturing sector's strong 2017 continued at the end of the third quarter. The factory PMI came in at 56.1 versus 55.8 in August. The reading was slightly higher than the flash estimate of 56.0.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com
Economic News
What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
