ERM quarterly : quarter 4 - january 2015

Dramatic recent oil price declines have seen deflation take hold in the EU. General price levels in December 2014 were 0.2% lower than a year earlier. This is further evidence of a tentative European economic recovery that appears to be running out of steam. Growth forecasts for the EU have been trimmed to 1.1% in 2015 after growth failed to reach even 1% in 2014. This issue includes: Macroeconomic trends and prospects; Job creation and job loss at a glance (1/10/14 - 31/12/14); Sectoral distribution of job losses/job gains, and top five cases; Case in focus: Lloyds Banking Group and branch banking; Situation in focus: Restructuring arising from Russian sanctions; Restructuring support measures in focus: public employment incentives.