Economic sentiment in the euro area increased in August, with the indicator rising to 98.4 points from a revised 97.1 points a month ago, according to European Commission data published Friday.
The latest reading is above the consensus estimate of 97.5 points.
Meanwhile, the consumer confidence index stood at -15.5 points, in line with the flash estimate, against the previous -15.9 points.
New Zealand's filled jobs in July rose 0.3% in seasonally adjusted terms to 2.36 million filled jobs in all industries compared with the previous month, according to a report released by Stats NZ on Friday.There were 2.34 million actual filled jobs in July, up 0.8% compared with the same period last year.Filled jobs in public administration and safety increased by 4% compared with last year, while professional, scientific, and technical services saw a 1.1% decline.By region, Canterbury experienced the largest job increase compared with July 2025, rising by 2.2%, while Northland had a 2.1% decrease.
The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence index for New Zealand eased by one point in August to 98, still under par but 18 points higher than a low struck in April, ANZ Research said in a Friday report.The result came as the net proportion of households who think it's a good time to purchase a major household item fell 5 points to minus 12, indicating continued struggles for retail.The current conditions index eased to 83.4 from 88.5 in the previous month, while the future conditions index rose marginally to 107.7 from 106.5.Following some improvement in July, perceptions of current personal financial situations compared with a year earlier gave up much of their gains with a decline to negative 21% from negative 16%."Petrol prices averaged a higher level than in July, having jumped in the last week of the previous month, and that may have impacted perceptions of current financial situations," ANZ said.Additionally, the report showed inflation expectations for two years ahead remaining relatively stable at 4.7%, while house price expectations eased to 2.5% from 2.6%.
Japan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 2.4% in July, according to data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on Friday.The reading missed the consensus forecast of 2.5% tracked by Investing.com, and compared with the 2.5% recorded in the previous month.The total number of unemployed persons was steady at 1.69 million, while the number of employed persons was also the same at 68.5 million.