ECB’s Lagarde: Europe labor market in surprisingly good condition
European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde spoke on Saturday at the US Federal Reserve's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Lagarde stated that Europe’s labor market has performed far better than expected, despite soaring inflation and steep interest-rate hikes in recent years, according to Reuters.
Lagarde added that employment expanded by 4.1% between the end of 2021 and mid-2025, nearly as much as the economy and roughly twice as much as an established economic rule would suggest.
Key quotes
Inflation has fallen sharply, and at a remarkably low cost in terms of employment.
By understanding the sources of recent resilience, we can be better prepared for the next shock, whatever shape it may take. Looking ahead, it is difficult to say with confidence whether the patterns of recent years will persist.
The European labor market has come through recent shocks in unexpectedly good shape.
But we should be cautious in assuming that this unique constellation of forces will last.
Market reaction
At the time of press, the EUR/USD pair was down 0.08% on the day at 1.1710.
ECB FAQs
The European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany, is the reserve bank for the Eurozone. The ECB sets interest rates and manages monetary policy for the region. The ECB primary mandate is to maintain price stability, which means keeping inflation at around 2%. Its primary tool for achieving this is by raising or lowering interest rates. Relatively high interest rates will usually result in a stronger Euro and vice versa. The ECB Governing Council makes monetary policy decisions at meetings held eight times a year. Decisions are made by heads of the Eurozone national banks and six permanent members, including the President of the ECB, Christine Lagarde.
In extreme situations, the European Central Bank can enact a policy tool called Quantitative Easing. QE is the process by which the ECB prints Euros and uses them to buy assets – usually government or corporate bonds – from banks and other financial institutions. QE usually results in a weaker Euro. QE is a last resort when simply lowering interest rates is unlikely to achieve the objective of price stability. The ECB used it during the Great Financial Crisis in 2009-11, in 2015 when inflation remained stubbornly low, as well as during the covid pandemic.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse of QE. It is undertaken after QE when an economic recovery is underway and inflation starts rising. Whilst in QE the European Central Bank (ECB) purchases government and corporate bonds from financial institutions to provide them with liquidity, in QT the ECB stops buying more bonds, and stops reinvesting the principal maturing on the bonds it already holds. It is usually positive (or bullish) for the Euro.
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