Eurozone unemployment rate falls to 11.1%

The eurozone's unemployment picture is improving, according to the latest data from the bloc.

Official figures showed the jobless rate fell to 11.1% in April, down from 11.2% the month before.

Separately, an influential survey from Markit indicated eurozone companies created jobs at the fastest pace in four years last month.

May was the seventh month in a row that firms in the eurozone had increased employment, Markit found.

Job creation accelerated last month in Germany, France and Spain, Markit said, with job growth in Spain hitting its fastest rate for more than seven years.

However, the survey also indicated that economic growth in the eurozone's private sector lost steam last month.

Markit's composite purchasing managers' index (PMI) dipped to 53.6 in May from 53.9 in April. A figure above 50 indicates growth.

"The eurozone recovery lost some of the wind from its sails in May, with growth of output and new orders both slowing to three-month lows," said Chris Williamson, Markit's chief economist.

He added that the weak euro was boosting manufacturing, but the still-high unemployment in the region continued to limit spending on goods and services.

Growth upgrade

Separately, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has raised its growth forecasts for the eurozone.

It now predicts that the eurozone's economy will grow by 1.4% this year and by 2.1% in 2016. It had previous predicted growth of 1.1% in 2015 and 1.7% next year.

The OECD cited the European Central Bank's stimulus programme, which was launched earlier this year, and the "substantial" fall in the value of the euro, as helping to lift growth prospects.

In addition to the monthly unemployment statistics, the European Union's statistics agency Eurostat also reported that retail sales rose 0.7% in April.

That brought the year-on-year increase to 2.2%, which was higher than analysts had forecast.