European inflation eases; employment levels remain stable

European Union Statistics Office (Eurostat) stated (15-Sep-2010) Euro Area annual inflation was 1.6% in Aug-2010, down from 1.7% in Jul-2010. A year earlier the rate was -0.2%. Monthly inflation was 0.2% in the month, with EU annual inflation standing at 2.0%, down from 2.1% in Jul-2010. A year earlier the rate was 0.6%. The main components with the highest annual rates were alcohol/tobacco and transport (both 3.3%). In Aug-2010, the lowest annual rates were observed in Ireland (-1.2%), Latvia (-0.4%) and Germany (1.0%), and the highest in Romania (7.6%), Greece (5.6%) and Hungary (3.6%). Compared with July-2010, annual inflation rose in 10, remained stable in nine and fell in eight Member States. Separately, Eurostat stated (15-Sep-2010) the number of persons employed in the euro area was stable in 2Q2010 and declined by 0.2% in the EU27. On a year-on-year basis, employment fell by 0.6% in both the euro area and the EU27. In 1Q2010, employment decreased by 1.2% and 1.5% respectively.