The eurozone has grown at its fastest rate since the eruption of the debt crisis five years ago, underscoring a brighter outlook after elections that eased fears of a populist political threat.
欧元区经济增速达到自5年前爆发债务危机以来最快水平,突显出一些国家选举后更加光明的前景,这些选举缓解了人们对民粹主义政治威胁的担忧。
Quarterly eurozone GDP growth accelerated from 0.5 per cent to 0.6 per cent in the three months to June, compared with the same period in 2016. The performance helped to drive year-on-year expansion from 1.9 per cent to 2.1 per cent — the highest rate since the second quarter of 2011.
欧元区今年第二季度国内生产总值(GDP)环比增长0.6%,高于第一季度0.5%的增幅。这一表现帮助同比增幅从1.9%扩大至2.1%,这是自2011年第二季度以来的最高水平。
Separate figures from a business survey showed the eurozone’s manufacturing sector is in the grip of a jobs boom. Factories in France are hiring at their best pace since 2000 and in Spain at a rate not seen since before the start of monetary union in 1998, according to IHS Markit’s purchasing managers’ index.
另一项商业调查数据显示,欧元区制造业部门正处于就业繁荣时期。根据IHS Markit的采购经理人指数,法国工厂的招聘达到了自2000年以来最快速度,而西班牙的招聘速度是连1998年货币联盟启动之前都未见的。
“This is close to utopia”, said James Nixon, chief eurozone economist at Oxford Economics.
牛津经济(Oxford Economics)首席欧元区经济学家詹姆斯?尼克松(James Nixon)称:“这接近于理想水平。”
The eurozone’s economic health has confounded critics this year after a series of electoral setbacks for Eurosceptic parties in the Netherlands, Austria and France boosted business and consumer confidence.
欧元区今年的经济健康状况让批评人士哑口无言,此前荷兰、奥地利、法国的疑欧派政党在大选中纷纷受挫,提振了企业和消费者信心。
The bloc’s economy has expanded for 17 consecutive quarters since 2013 and unemployment has dropped to a nine-year low of 9.1 per cent in June. More than 1.5m people left unemployment in the past 12 months, according to Eurostat.
自2013年以来,欧元区经济已连续17个季度增长,6月份失业率降至9年低点——9.1%。欧盟统计局(Eurostat)的数据显示,过去12个月,有150多万人摆脱了失业。
“These numbers are at the top of what is possible to be sustained. If you look at the number of jobs that are being created, this is a very impressive performance,” Mr Nixon said.
“这些数字是可持续范畴内的最高水平。如果你看看正在创造的就业岗位数量,这是一个非常令人印象深刻的表现,”尼克松表示。