Euro zone retail sales rose and unemployment fell in April, the European Union's statistics office data showed today, adding to signs of economic recovery in the single currency area.
Eurostat said retail sales in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose 0.7% month-on-month in April for a 2.2% annual increase - above the market consensus of a 2% annual rise.
Analysts said that while consumer confidence has waned slightly in the bloc in May, it remains at high levels and the data suggest that consumption could post another strong quarter in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, unemployment, an indicator that usually reacts to economic developments with a lag, fell to 11.1% of the workforce in April from a downwardly revised 11.2%in March.
The number of people without jobs in the euro zone fell by 130,000 people to 17.846 million.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a smaller fall in the number of unemployed to 11.2%.
The data adds to other signs of economic recovery in the euro zone, which returned to inflation in May after five months of falling prices and stagnation, following an acceleration of economic growth in the first quarter of 2015.
Eurostat noted that the overall level of unemloyment in the euro zone was the lowest since April 2012.
But ss usual, the level of joblessness varied widely across the euro zone.
Unemployment in powerhouse Germany was unchanged at 4.7%, the lowest rate in the currency bloc.
The highest rate was in debt-stricken Greece, at 25.4% in February, the latest data available, down slightly from 25.7% a month earlier.
Youth unemployment in Greece stood at 50.1% and a still huge but slightly lower 49.6% in Spain.
Italy, the euro zone's third biggest economy, saw joblessness fall to 12.4% from a revised 12.6% in March. Youth unemployment in Italy however still stood at a high 40.9%.
EU-wide, unemployment in the 28 member states fell to 9.7% in April from 9.8%.
