Press Release: European economic growth speeds up in 2006 boosted by buoyant investment and consumption

Economic growth is speeding up in 2006 to 2.7% in the European Union and 2.5% in the euro area, driven mainly by domestic demand, particularly investment. This is the strongest growth since 2000. In this positive climate, the number of jobs created by the economy is also growing and the unemployment rate dropped to 8% in the EU and 7.8% in the euro area in July. While consumer prices are pushed up by higher energy costs, underlying inflation remains contained thanks to improved labour productivity and international competition. Overall, inflation is expected to be 2.3% in 2006 in both EU and euro area after 2.2% last year.