Economics
Euro-Area Factories Returned to Growth Amid Severe Jobs Cuts
A worker lowers a 4 cylinder diesel motor engine onto a rack for shipping at the Adam Opel AG automobile component factory in Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Photographer: Alex Kraus/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Factories across the euro area saw an even stronger return to growth in July than initially reported, marking the region’s first manufacturing expansion in one-and-a-half years.
With consumer goods performing particularly well, IHS Markit’s manufacturing PMI came in at 51.8, beating a flash estimate and higher than June’s reading of 47.4. At the same time, companies in the sector continued to see backlogs of work decline and cut jobs for the 15th successive month -- a potential warning sign for future activity.