Eurozone inflation falls below 2% and unemployment is at an all-time low.

BrusselsTwo positive macroeconomic data points for the eurozone. The eurozone countries managed to bring inflation below the 2% target in May, at 1.9%, and maintain the unemployment rate at a minimum in April, to 6.2%, one tenth less than the previous month, according to the preliminary report published this Tuesday by the European Commission's statistical institute, Eurostat.

In this way, the eurozone managed to bring the annual rate of price increases below the milestone set by the European Central Bank (ECB) for the first time in 2025, paving the way for the banking institution to lower interest rates again on Thursday. Compared to March, inflation in the eurozone fell by three-tenths of a percentage point, largely due to the fall in energy prices and the slowdown in economic activity in the services sector. As for Spain, inflation was also 1.9% in May.

Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes items with more volatile prices, such as energy and fresh food, remains slightly above 2%. However, it has also fallen compared to April (four-tenths of a percentage point), to 2.3%, and is approaching the target set by the ECB.

On the other hand, the countries of the single currency continue to reduce their unemployment rate, keeping it at a record low of 6.2% in April. In fact, this is the same figure reached in November and December last year and the lowest since Eurostat began keeping records in 2008. In the European Union as a whole, the percentage of people looking for work but unable to find it is even lower, at 5.9%.

According to Eurostat, unemployment in the eurozone fell by 207,000 people in April, and it estimates that there are around 10.68 million unemployed people in the eurozone countries. In this regard, Spain is at the bottom of the European Union in terms of employment. Despite recent improvements, it still has the highest unemployment rate among the member states, at 10.9%. This is the same figure recorded in March, but it is seven-tenths of a percentage point higher than the rate reached in April 2024, when it stood at 11.6%.