“The indicators for the second quarter signal a new weakening of economic expansion and greater uncertainty” in the Eurozone, writes the European Central Bank in its monthly bulletin. The Eurotower expects a “gradual recovery over the longer term” which, however, risks being slowed down by a number of factors including thehigh unemployment, le debt strain impacting credit conditions and balance sheet adjustment in banks and firms.
On the labor market front ECB warns conditions are increasingly alarming and 'have worsened further'. Not only that: "the surveys do not report improvements for the foreseeable future". In detail, the ECB notes that in the first quarter of 2012, employment fell by 0,2% on a quarterly basis, after having recorded declines of comparable magnitude in the previous two periods. AND the Eurotower expects further declines in the second quarter of the year: the unemployment rate further increased between April and May of this year, reaching 11,1%, 1,2 percentage points higher than the peak in April 2011. “The labor markets of the euro area – says the ECB – have paid a heavy price to the economic and financial crisis”.
Regarding specifically our country, on the real estate sector, the increases in taxes on the house are likely to be felt negatively, while in general in the euro area “activity in the construction sector is likely to remain moderate”. The reference seems to go to the IMU: "In France and Italy - specifies the ECB - the sector's activity could also be affected by the measures aimed at reorganizing the public finances, such as the increase in property taxes", and "the gradual of tax measures in favor of investments in residential properties”.
Download Bulletin of the ECB of July complete.
