Eurozone unemployment nugdes lower, sentiment remains subdued

(Sharecast News) - Consumer sentiment remained subdued across the Eurozone at the end of last year, a long-running survey showed on Thursday, despite the unemployment rate nudging lower. According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 6.3% in November, down from 6.4% in October. Consensus had been for no change.

Across the wider bloc, the rate was 6.0%, unchanged on the previous month. That compares to unemployment rates of 6.2% and 5.8% in the Eurozone and EU respectively in November 2024.

The unemployment rate in Germany - the bloc's largest economy - was unchanged at 3.8%, but it edged down 0.1 point to 10.4% in Spain. It was unchanged at 7.7% in France.

However, despite the broadly stable unemployment rate, consumer and business sentiment remained subdued.

According to data also released on Thursday, the European Commission's Economic Sentiment Index shed 0.4 points in December in the Eurozone, to 96.7, narrowly missing consensus for 97.

In the wider EU, the ESI shed just 0.1 point, at 96.7. Both remain below their long-term average of 100.

The ESI was lower across all the major economies, including a 1.1-point decline in Germany and 0.9-point softening in France.

Despite unemployment edging down in November, December's employment expectations indicator lost 0.9 points at 97.9.

The EC attributed the weaker outlook to "downward revisions in employment plans in the services, retail trade and construction sectors".

Bert Colijn, ING chief economist, Netherlands, said that while the decline in the ESI was not large, it was "reflective of an economy showing modest growth without any meaningful signs of a pick-up".

He continued: "For 2026, we expect growth to gradually pick up on the back of stronger consumer spending and investment.

"For the moment, low consumer confidence continues to be a barrier to increase household spending, although positive real wage growth does provide some consumption tailwinds. For investment, the big question is when fiscal stimulus promises will kick in."

Eurostat also released data on industrial producer prices on Thursday. They showed a 0.5% month-on-month increase in the Eurozone in November, higher than the 0.2% uplift forecast. Across the wider bloc, they rose 0.6%.