MADRID | The Corner | The number of unemployed people registered in the Public Services of Employment has fallen to 4,512,116. It dropped by 14,688 people in November with respect to the previous month. This represents the best figure for November since records began in 1996, according to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. The unemployment rate has now fallen for three consecutive months
LONDON | By Víctor Jiménez | Raise the main interest rate? Certainly not. Or not yet, anyway. While the US economy is not showing clear signs of having overcome the assisted breathing phase (i.e. printing money or the recently wound up phase of quantitative easing that the Fed finished two weeks ago), the chances are that the Bank of England will keep the price of the pound at a very low level.
MADRID | By Francisco López | The strength of the dollar –which is in maximum levels and has appreciated by almost 11% against the euro since January 2014, has started to cast doubt among market watchers. Some experts consider that such strong appreciation does not correspond to Janet Yellen’s cautious decisions or to the low inflation expectations at a global level, which leaves room to central banks to maintain loose monetary policies.
MADRID | The Corner | Unemployment continues to afflict Spaniards and official figures released on Tuesday added even more pressure on the authorities: 8,700 more jobless people were registered in August, the first rise in unemployment after six months of improvement.
MADRID | The Corner | Although it is not part of ECB’s mandate, last Friday in Jackson Hole, President Mario Draghi spoke about what needs to be done in the euro area to address the problem of high unemployment and weak economic growth. As Barclays analysts believe, the speech “represented a significant breakthrough in the ECB rhetoric and will probably have significant implications regarding the debate just about to start between European government on policies that need to be deployed to avoid a ‘triple-dip recession’ and a fall in outright deflation.”
MADRID | The Corner | The unemployment rate in Spain falls in July by 29,841 people and drops for six consecutive months. The total number of unemployed stands at 4,419,860. For the first time, unemployment is below the 4.42 million that the current executive found when it came to power. Regarding to the nature of the employment created, it is important to highlight the growth of indefinite contracts by 18.41%. The cumulative reduction of unemployment in the first 7 months of the year (281.478 people) is the largest since 1998. In seasonally adjusted terms, unemployment registered in July grows in 32,357 people, a figure which corresponds to the time series trend, where since 2000 the seasonally adjusted unemployment always increases in July, with the only exception of 2004.
MADRID | The Corner | The fall in inflation in July to 0,4% YoY and a still high unemployment rate of 11.5% in the Eurozone show that the policy measures the ECB announced in June are going to take some time to reach the real economy.
MADRID | The Corner | Despite the slow recovery, unemployment in the eurozone has fallen faster than expected. According to the Labor Force Survey, the rate of jobless population has gone from 12.5% in 1Q13 to 12.2% in 1Q14. The reason? The single currency club is ageing. Also, immigration is playing a secondary role, as unemployment rate for non-EU citizens notably higher than for nationals in the EU28.
BRUSSELS | By Alexandre Mato | The last Eurobarometer after the european elections showed that the EU’s image is improving among its citizens. 35% of them have a positive image of communitarian institutions. Austerity measures to fight the economic crisis or the unresolved unemployment problem have not erased this ‘popular feeling’. But more than 40% think that in a national or European level the economy will remain “the same” for the coming 12 months. Only 24% see an improvement.
MADRID | The Corner | Ahead of INE’s official release of Q2 growth, Bank of Spain (BdE) published on Wednesday its estimate in its economic bulletin. The central bank estimates that economic activity in Q2 accelerated to 0.5% q/q from 0.4% q/q in Q1, driven by positive contributions from both domestic and external demand. BdE has also revised upwards its annual growth projections for 2014 and 2015 to 1.3% and 2%. These estimates coincide with ours, both for Q2 14 and for 2014-15, analysts at Barclays point out.