by Calculated Risk on 11/29/2013 01:37:00 PM

From the NY Times: Euro Zone Inflation Rises to 0.9% as Jobless Rate Dips to 12.1%

Unemployment in the 17 countries of the euro zone dropped to 12.1 percent in October from 12.2 percent the previous month, according to official figures. While that was certainly decent news for the 61,000 fewer people who are jobless, unemployment remains near a record high.

At the same time, inflation in the euro zone rose to 0.9 percent in November from a year earlier, up from 0.7 percent in October, according to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics office. The inflation rate is still well below the European Central Bank’s target rate of below but close to 2 percent, and short of the level required to convince many economists that the euro zone is safe from deflation, a persistent and broad decline of prices that is a typical feature of economic depression.

Here is the unemployment data from Eurostat:

Eurostat estimates that 26.654 million men and women in the EU-28, of whom 19.298 million were in the euro area (EA-17), were unemployed in October 2013. Compared with September 2013, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 75 000 in the EU-28 and by 61 000 in the euro area. Compared with October 2012, unemployment rose by 512 000 in the EU-28 and by 615 000 in the euro area.

The euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 12.1% in October 2013, down from 12.2% in September; it was 11.7% in October 2012. The EU-28 unemployment rate was 10.9 % in October 2013, stable compared with September; it was 10.7 % in October 2012.

This was the first decline in the unemployment rate since 2011, but the situation is still very grim, especially in Greece (27.3%) and Spain (26.7%).