European Statistical Monitor: December edition

Today, Eurostat released the European Statistical Monitor, a dashboard with short-term indicators covering different areas, such as economy, environment, business, health and work.

This monthly updated dashboard is designed to track developments within the EU as a whole and its members, as well as the EFTA countries, providing a holistic overview of key developments. It focuses on monthly and quarterly indicators, ensuring up-to-date insights and includes a commentary, focusing on recent changes and trends.

While the EU economy slowly expands and labour markets remain positive, industrial output continues to fluctuate and both services production and retail trade decline

In the third quarter of 2024, the EU economy stayed on a steady growth path, with GDP maintaining a moderate expansion, unemployment at a historic low, employment continuing to increase, and labour market slack reaching a new record low, though job vacancy rates decreased slightly.

When looking at monthly business indicators, industrial production in October continued its pattern of monthly fluctuations and slightly expanded, while September production in services and October retail trade showed signs of decline.

EU annual inflation rose slightly in October, after having reached its lowest point since May 2021 in September. EU economic sentiment was broadly stable in November and has remained at a similar level since September 2023.

In September 2024, there was a rise in the number non-EU citizens applying for asylum in the EU for the first time. October 2024 marked the first decrease in excess mortality in the EU since April 2024.

You can read the full analysis by opening the Eurostat commentary linked in the dashboard’s header.

The European Statistical Monitor is updated every month with the latest available data for each indicator.