Greek Jobless Rate at 16.3%; Switzerland Holds Rate

Arthi Gupta
15 Sep, 2011
New York City

Greek jobless rate rose to 16.3%. Euro area employment increased 0.3% in the second quarter but annual inflation remained stable at 2.5% in August. France estimated 2011 deficit at a record high of

[R]2:15 PM Frankfurt – Greek jobless rate rose to 16.3%. Euro area employment increased 0.3% in the second quarter but annual inflation remained stable at 2.5% in August. France estimated 2011 deficit at a record high of €75 billion and German manufacturing employment improved in July.[/R]

Greece Jobless Rate Increases

The jobless rate in Greece advanced to 16.3% in the second quarter from 15.9% in the first quarter, data released by the Hellenic Statistics Authority showed on Thursday. In the second quarter of 2010, the unemployment rate was 11.8%.

The unemployment rate among youth, aged between 15 and 29, was 32.9% in the second quarter. In the second quarter of last year, the jobless rate among youth was 22.8%, the agency said.

The number of unemployed persons increased 2.3% on a quarterly basis to 810,821 in the second quarter. Annually, the number of unemployed surged 36.5%.

Swedish Jobless Rate Slides

Sweden''s unemployment rate decreased 0.8 percentage points from a year ago to 6.6% in August, data released by Statistics Sweden showed.

Unemployment among youth, aged between 15 and 24, was 17.3%.

The number of jobless persons dropped 9.1% annually to 336,000 in August. Unemployment among youth decreased 5.8% annually to 116,000 in August.

France Deficit Estimates Raised

The French government estimates the country''s trade deficit to reach a record €75 billion this year, newspaper Les Echos reported on Thursday. The government had earlier forecast the deficit to be €48 billion in 2011, the paper said.

SNB Holds Rate

The Swiss National Bank on Thursday left its three-month Libor unchanged at zero. The bank retained the sight deposits at the SNB at significantly above Sfr200 billion.

Also, the central bank said it will enforce the minimum exchange rate of Swiss franc at 1.20 per euro.

Euro Area Employment Rises

Employment in the euro area increased a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in the second quarter compared to the 0.1% growth in the first quarter, according to Eurostat.

In EU27, employment rose 0.2% in the second quarter as against the 0.1% increase in the first quarter.

From a year ago, the number of employed persons rose 0.4% in the second quarter, after growing 0.3% in the first quarter. In EU27, employment rose 0.3% annually.

Euro-zone Inflation Stable

Euro-zone annual inflation remained stable at 2.5% in August, in line with the flash estimate, according to final data published by the Eurostat today. Monthly inflation was 0.2% in August.

Core inflation that excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco also remained unchanged at 1.2% in August.

Italy Inflation Slows

Italy''s consumer price index increased 2.8% from a year ago in August, unrevised from the preliminary estimates. In July, consumer prices rose 3.1%.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.3% in August, matching the flash estimates released earlier. In July, prices remained unchanged on a monthly basis.

Swedish Home Prices Fall

Prices of one-or two-dwelling buildings in Sweden dropped 1% on a monthly basis in August, after increasing 1% in July, data released by Statistics Sweden showed.

The average home price in Sweden rose to SEK 2.11 million in August from SEK 2.04 million in July. The number of purchases dropped to 4,248 in August from 4,948 in July.

Dutch Retail Sales Decline, Jobless Rate Climbs

Retail sales in the Netherlands fell 0.7% from a year ago in July after remaining unchanged in June, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. In terms of value, sales increased 2.9% but in terms of volume, sales declined 3.5% in July.

Separately, the seasonally adjusted jobless rate for the Netherlands rose to 5.4% in August from 5.3% in July.

The number of unemployed persons rose by 8,000 from last year to 421,000 and the number persons seeking jobless benefits was 32,000 in August.

Hungary Production Gains

Industrial output increased a working-day adjusted 2.7% from a year ago in July, unrevised from the preliminary estimates and compared to the 1% growth in production in June.

On a monthly basis, production edged higher a seasonally and working day adjusted 0.8% in July, unchanged from the initial estimates. In June, industrial output fell 0.6% on a monthly basis.

German Manufacturing Employment Up

Employment in Germany’s manufacturing units with 50 or more employees increased 3.3% annually to 5.1 million in July, preliminary data released by statistics office Destatis showed.