The European Central Bank (ECB) has raised its forecasts for gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the eurozone this year to 2.2 percent, highlighting the positive contribution of migrants and women in strengthening the labor force.
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In earlier estimates, the ECB had predicted GDP growth in the 19-member economy for 2017 at 1.9 percent.
– Immigration has made a huge positive contribution to the working-age population during the recovery, primarily reflecting the influx of workers from new member states of the European Union (EU), the ECB’s economic bulletin published on Thursday states.
The bulletin adds that “this has likely also had a significant impact on the labor force, particularly in Germany and Italy, but also in some smaller eurozone economies.”
Continuing a long-term trend, the increase in the labor force during the economic recovery has been driven by women’s participation, the ECB bulletin further states.
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While the increased share of older age groups is characteristic of both genders, the rise in the participation rate among women during the recovery has been more pronounced, and the decline has been smaller among those in the prime working age, the bulletin notes.
