These relatively low growth rates are linked to a deterioration of competitiveness, driven, for example, by persistent above average unit labour costs. Ahead of EMU, unit labour costs converged in the euro area.
What is more – disregarding the most recent countries to join the euro area – dispersion both ahead of the crisis and during the crisis was very similar in the euro area and the United States. At the same time, it is worth noting that both currency areas include regions with persistently above or below average unit labour cost growth.