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Business activity among Italian services providers shrank in January and forced companies to reduce headcount for the first time in more than two years, a Purchasing Managers’ Index showed on Tuesday. Firms cited weakening domestic demand and a decline in export orders as reasons for the job cuts.
While the Italian economy, which slipped into recession at the end of 2018, marks a particularly weak spot in the region, cracks have appeared across the 19-nation bloc.
Retail sales slumped 1.6 percent in December, the most in more than seven years, the latest indication that uncertain economic prospects are weighing down growth momentum.
Germany’s industry has been deeply scarred by carmakers’ struggles with new emissions tests and waning global trade. In France, consumer spending took a hit from violent protests against the government.