The Daily Telegraph

Eurozone business activity hits highest level since 2011

- By Szu Ping Chan

‘Strong jobs growth was a reflection of optimism about future growth’

EUROZONE businesses enjoyed their strongest quarter of activity since 2011 in the three months to June, in a further sign that economic growth has picked up pace.

A survey by IHS Markit showed that private sector activity in the bloc’s manufactur­ing and services sectors remained robust in June as companies continued to hire at a rapid pace to cope with rising backlogs of work. Manufactur­ing employment growth was just shy of the two-decade high seen in May, as the dominant services sector extended its best spell of employment growth since early 2008.

“The strong jobs growth was also a reflection of ongoing elevated levels of optimism about future growth,” the informatio­n company said.

While the headline IHS Markit eurozone purchasing managers’ index (PMI) edged down to 55.7 in June, from 56.8 in May, the reading was still well above the 50 level that divides growth from contractio­n. The average PMI reading for the second quarter, of 56.4, was the highest since the first quarter of 2011. Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said the survey suggested eurozone growth was on course to accelerate from 0.6pc in the first quarter to 0.7pc in the three months to June. He said: “The upturn is also broad-based, with the surveys signalling an accelerati­on of GDP growth in both France and Germany.”

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