Again leaving aside the most recent countries to join the euro area, Greece, Portugal and Ireland, in particular, have lost competitiveness vis-à-vis their main trading partners in the euro area. Germany, in contrast, has been able to lower relative unit labour costs. There have been similar persistent losses and gains in competitiveness in the United States.
Some states have experienced large or persistent increases in unit labour costs, currently exceeding the national average by as much as 20%. Other states have been gaining competitiveness vis-à-vis the national average over the past decade. In summary, economic heterogeneity in the euro area and the United States has been broadly similar on a number of measures over the past 12 years. II.