Eurozone unemployment dropped in January to 11.2%

The Eurozone unemployment dropped in January, sending a signal of possible improvement in the labor market. The unemployment rate in the currency bloc reached 11.2% in the first month of 2015. This had marked a full year in which the Eurozone unemployment rate is below the threshold of 12%. The analysts had expected the measure to rise to 11.4% after a revised 11.3% in December.

A significant improvement was registered in Germany, where the labor market continues its good performance. The number of unemployed in the country fell for the fifth consecutive month in February. The report of German Federal Statistical Office Destatis shows that the number of people without job had dropped to a seasonally adjusted 20,000 in the second month of the year. The data for January were even adjusted to retreat to 10,000. Meanwhile, the adjusted level of unemployment was 6.5%, which is the lowest in the past more than two decades.

The markets now await with interest the official launch of the program of quantitative easing from the European Central Bank. In January, the institution said it will flows into the European economy 60 billion EUR per month until September 2016, which increases its balance sheet with over 1 trillion EUR.

As expected policy Mario Draghi need to “tame” the deflationary trends and stimulate the real economy of the Eurozone. Other than the effects should be increased demand and better prospects for the labor market.