Good news on the front of labor market in the euro area. Eurostat communicated that in April the unemployment rate fell to11,1% compared to 11,2% in March and 11,7% in April 2014, beating the expectations of analysts who had announced a rate of 11,2%. In the European Union, however, the rate remained unchanged at 9,7%.
There are also encouraging signs with regard to European consumer spending. In April, retail sales reported an increase of 0,7% compared to March, when there was a negative change of 0,6%. On an annual basis, the figure relating to expenditure showed an increase of 2,2%, resulting in this case slightly above the expectations which had budgeted for +2%. Sales in the Europe of 28 recorded a monthly increase of 0,6% after -0,4% in March, while on an annual basis they increased by 2,6% (+2,7% the previous year).
