Meanwhile “the Euro area is playing its role by implementing structural reforms and contributing to a rebalancing of growth.” For the first time in its existence the euro area outpaced the United States in terms of economic growth. The euro area’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate came to 6.9% in 2006, thus hitting its lowest level in more than a decade.
This drop is not only the result of economic activity. The labor market and welfare reforms of the past few years have also reduced structural unemployment. Since the introduction of the euro in 1999, some 15 million new jobs have been created in the euro area. This is not to depict an unduly positive picture.