Euro Zone GDP Increases, Unemployment Drops

GDP has marked growth in both the Euro zone and the EU as a whole. But inflation has registered a dramatic increase. The economy of the Euro zone continues to grow, albeit more slowly than before, showed Eurostat data.

According to Eurostat, the volume of GDP of the 19 member-states of the currency union grew by 1.7% in 2016, compared to 2% in 2015.

A similar development has been observed for the EU as a whole. The total volume of GDP for the EU grew by 1.9%, compared to 2.2% in 2015.

Positive dynamics were reported on the labour market. Unemployment in the Euro zone reached its lowest level since May 2009. In 2016, unemployment was 9.6%. Analysts expected this level to be 9.8%.

This indicator varies for different states of the EU. The lowest level was reported for Germany - 3.9%, while Greece registered unemployment of 23%.

Inflation marked a sharp increase. Consumer prices grew by 1.8% in December 2016, compared to December 2015.

Thus, inflation reached its highest level since February 2013. The largest increase was reported for electricity and foods prices.