It is thus important to focus on the medium-term trend when assessing growth developments. Looking ahead, on the external side, growth in emerging countries should remain robust, supporting euro area foreign demand. On the domestic side, the economic fundamentals of the euro area remain sound and the euro area does not suffer from major imbalances.
Moreover, employment rates and labour force participation have increased significantly in recent years, and unemployment rates have fallen to levels not seen for 25 years.