Economics

Euro-Area Companies Boost Jobs as Output Nears 12-Year High

Composite PMI rises to 58.8 from 58.1, IHS Markit says
Economic growth set to become less dependent on ECB support

Employee work on the assembly line inside the Volkswagen AG (VW) factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, on Friday, May 20, 2016. Volkswagen AG agreed to raise German workers' pay after labor leaders vowed that employees wont foot the multi-billion-euro bill to resolve its diesel-emissions scandal.Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi

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By Carolynn Look

February 5, 2018 at 9:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Economic momentum in the euro area surged to the fastest pace in almost 12 years, pushing firms to pile on the most additional workers since the start of the millennium.

A composite Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 58.8 in January from 58.1 in December, IHS Markit said. That unexpectedly beat the previous flash estimate of 58.6, with the revision driven mainly by better-than-expected momentum in the service sector, led by Germany.