Eurozone manufacturing growth is accelerating – but employment continues to fall
Markit's purchasing managers' index (PMI) data for Eurozone manufacturing shows output, new orders and new exports expanding for the fifth consecutive month.
The headline PMI number has risen to 51.6 in November, from a flash estimate of 51.5. Any number above 50 implies an expansion.
But manufacturing employment continues to collapse. Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, says that job numbers are declining "as companies seek to become leaner and more competitive".
Williamson concludes that "any substantial improvement to the region's unemployment situation still seems frustratingly far off."
