The euro zone unemployment rate remained stuck at 8.9 per cent for the eighth month running in November and retail trade was unchanged from October, pointing to weak consumer spending in the 12-nation single currency area.
November retail sales inched up 0.4 per cent from the same month in 2003 and in the 25-member European Union retail sales were up 0.4 per cent from October for a 2.3 per cent year-on-year rise, EU statistics office Eurostat said today.
In monthly terms, euro zone retail trade was dragged down by weak performance in Germany, where sales fell by 2.5 per cent and by 2.8 per cent in Portugal. They increased by 2.5 per cent in Denmark and by 1.7 per cent in both Spain and Sweden.
Eurostat revised October retail sales down to 0.4 per cent month-on-month from 0.7 per cent. It added that month-on-month food, drinks and tobacco sales grew by 0.3 per cent in the euro zone while the non-food sector fell by the same number.
The retail and unemployment data were the latest in the string of indicators highlighting the fragility of the euro zone's economic recovery.
"The persistent softness of labour markets continues to weigh down on consumer confidence and spending across the region," said Howard Archer, analyst at Global Insight.
"This is reflected in the fact that euro zone retail sales were only flat in November. It therefore seems most unlikely that consumer spending will be a major growth driver for the Eurozone economy in 2005."
The European Commission forecasts euro zone growth at 2.1 per cent in 2004 and 2.0 per cent in 2005, although the European Central Bank and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development are slightly more pessimistic.