LONDON (AP) — Official figures show that the number of people unemployed across the 19-eurozone economy edged down further in August, but that the overall unemployment rate remained unchanged at its lowest level since early 2009.
Eurostat, the EU's statistics agency, said the number of jobless fell by 42,000 to 14.751 million. The unemployment rate held at 9.1 percent, its joint-lowest since February 2009.
It's the latest piece of good news for the region that has stoked expectations that the European Central Bank will soon start to reduce its stimulus.
Elsewhere, financial information company IHS Markit said Monday that its main gauge of business activity in the manufacturing sector rose to a level that's only been bettered once in the past 17 years. Strong eurozone growth has helped shore up British manufacturing, too.
