Employment is growing in the Eurozone and activity is growing rapidly despite the crisis in Ukraine. However, the room for manœuvre in the management of the economy is limited. Very low productivity gains in the Euro Area constrain the ability to raise wages, to increase investment or reduce working time. That’s a limit to grow.
In the USA, the opposite is observed. Productivity gains are important. So, how to understand this difference between the two shores of the Atlantic. Would this be a challenge to economic policy in the Eurozone?
France is in a special situation. Its economy creates a lot of jobs, businesses want to create more jobs while activity has a poor momentum. How to understand this paradox?