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The euro area (EA16) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 8.5% in February 2009, compared with 8.3% in January. It was 7.2% in February 2008. The EU27 unemployment rate was 7.9% in February 2009, compared with 7.7% in January. It was 6.8% in February 2008.

In March, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) for the EU and the euro area declined again, but more slowly than in the first two months of the year amid signs of stabilisation in some sectors. It fell by 0.6 points in the EU, and by 0.7 points in the euro area, to 60.3 and 64.6 respectively. The indicators for both regions now stand at their lowest levels since the current series was launched in January 1985.

Viviane Reding, the European Union's Commissioner for Information Society and Media, asked the information and communication technologies (ICT) industry for intensified efforts for tackling climate change. She warned that the measures in place so far to meet the EU's objective of cutting energy use by 20% by 2020 will only improve energy efficiency by 13 percent".

The Bloomberg Euro-Zone Retail Purchasing Managers' Index, based on a mid-month survey of more than 1,000 executives in the euro area retail sector, provides data one month ahead of government-issued figures. The PMI rose from 42.3 in February to 44.1 in March, signaling the smallest monthly drop in the value of sales in five months. The first quarter has seen an average monthly decline that was less steep than the record drop seen during Q4 of last year. The March decline remained strong by the survey's historical standards, and sales have now fallen for ten consecutive months.

EU Member States expressed their support for a Commission proposal to reduce the electricity consumption of circulators - which will save the equivalent of Ireland's yearly electricity consumption - during today's Ecodesign Regulatory Committee meeting. The Regulation is expected to create 7,000 jobs and make electricity savings of €2.2 billion by 2020.

The Eurosystem, which comprises the European Central Bank (ECB) and 16 national central banks of the euro area, is publishing a set of expectations for different stakeholders regarding the future progress of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) project. The expectations, developed as a response to requests for guidance received throughout 2008, provide support for banking communities and payment institutions. They should also provide users with guidance regarding the adjustment of their payment-related activities and what they can expect from their bank or payment institution. The Eurosystem’s expectations are not, however, intended to be formal requirements or legally binding.

Employees are increasingly accepting responsibility for helping save money around the workplace according to new research released by the Carbon Trust, with the majority (87%) saying it's important for them to help their employer cut costs in the current climate, and 78% willing to be more energy efficient to save money.

Nearly one third of individuals in the EU27 shopped on the internet in 2008 Travel and clothes most popular purchases. In 2008, 32% of individuals1 aged 16-74 in the EU27 had bought or ordered goods or services for private use over the internet at least once in the last 12 months.

In January 2009 compared with December 2008, the euro area1 (EA16) industrial new orders index fell by 3.4%. In December 2008 the index decreased by 8.0%. In the EU27 new orders declined by 2.2% in January 2009, after dropping by 6.8% in December 200. Excluding ships, railway & aerospace equipment, for which changes tend to be more volatile, industrial new orders fell by 3.3% in the euro area and by 3.8% in the EU27.

Correcting the market inequalities, and improving direct relations between consumers and producers, in order to guarantee reasonable prices for the former and profits for the latter, are the principle objectives of a report adopted by the European Parliament on the difference in price between production and consumption in the food chain.