4 Looking ahead, the euro area faces the prospect of an ageing population, and the labour force could therefore become a strong constraint on the growth potential of the euro area.
•  As for labour utilisation, over the past ten years, and despite subdued growth in the population of working age, there has been a strong acceleration in the number of total hours worked in the euro area. This stands in contrast to developments in the United States, where a small deceleration has taken place.