Almost three years into the Russein-Ukraine war, Europe’s economy continues to feel the impact. Rising energy costs have led to higher expenses in transportation and education, while recent reports indicated no major shifts in unemployment rate.
In January 2025, the European Central Bank (ECB) lowered its key deposit rate by a quarter point to 2.75%. The widely expected move was the ECB’s fourth cut in a row.
Although inflation has dropped from its peak of 10.6% in October 2022, it remains stubbornly above a 2% target and rose to 2.4% in December 2024, on the back of higher energy prices.
Reports indicate that AI has contributed to GDP growth across Europe by boosting productivity, automating process innovation in sectors like manufacturing, health care and finance. Although it has created high-skilled jobs in technology and data science, it has also led to workforce displacement in routine jobs.
