2  BIS Review 89/2007  Indeed, economic activity accelerated to 2.8% last year, and since the start of Monetary Union real GDP growth has amounted to 2.1% on average. Unemployment has declined significantly, dropping from 9% in 1999 to 7.3% recently, a development which is particularly welcome. 12 million new jobs were created since 1999.
The ECB staff projections foresee growth in a range between 2.1% and 2.9% in 2007 and between 1.9% and 2.9% in 2008. In the opinion of the ECB’s Governing Council, the risks surrounding this favorable outlook for economic growth are broadly balanced over the short term. However, looking at longer time horizons, risks may lie mainly on the downside.