European Statistical Monitor: June edition

Today, Eurostat released the European Statistical Monitor, a dashboard with short-term indicators covering different areas, such as economy, environment, business, health and work.

This monthly updated dashboard is designed to track developments within the EU as a whole and its members, as well as the EFTA countries, providing a holistic overview of key developments. It focuses on monthly and quarterly indicators, ensuring up-to-date insights and includes a commentary, focusing on recent changes and trends. 

June highlights: EU industrial production and economic sentiment increase, and unemployment remains stable, while inflation rises slightly 

EU industrial production increased month-on-month in April 2024, while retail trade decreased, following a quarter-on-quarter GDP rebound in Q1 2024. EU production in services fell month-on-month in March 2024. Nevertheless, production in services remained significantly above its 2021 level, while industrial production and retail trade were below.

Examining short-term developments more closely, EU industrial production picked up from the stagnation observed in March 2024. Despite rises in February and April, the sector has yet to fully recover from the significant fall recorded in January 2024, when production fell to its lowest level since September 2021. This fall contributed substantially to the year-on-year decline in industrial production observed in April 2024. 

Conversely, EU retail trade decreased month-on-month, reversing the increase observed in March 2024. This reversal highlights broader sectoral fluctuations that, nevertheless, resulted in slight year-on-year growth in April 2024.

Meanwhile, EU production in services pulled back in March 2024 from the historical high reached in February. This downturn did not completely reverse the substantial gains observed in February 2024. Despite these fluctuations, the broader view of month-on-month changes shows a trend of modest yet positive growth, culminating in a year-on-year increase in March 2024.

Against this backdrop, the EU annual inflation rate rose by 0.1 percentage points in May 2024, marking the first increase since December 2023. Meanwhile, the EU unemployment rate remained unchanged in April 2024 compared to the previous month, maintaining historically low levels. This resilient picture of the EU labour market is reinforced by other key indicators, with the EU employment rate increasing and labour market slack remaining stable quarter-on-quarter in Q1 2024.

Finally, EU economic sentiment improved in May 2024, only partially reversing the decline observed in the previous month. The European Commission’s Economic Sentiment Indicator has hovered below its long-term average since July 2022. Its rise in May was driven by improved confidence in services and among consumers but this was offset by declines in retail trade and construction. Meanwhile, confidence in industry remained broadly stable. 

You can read the full analysis by opening the Eurostat commentary linked in the dashboard’s header.

The European Statistical Monitor is updated every month with the latest available data for each indicator.