IHT: EU added 3 million new jobs last year as economy sped up

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EU added 3 million new jobs last year as economy sped up

BRUSSELS, Belgium: The European Union economy added nearly 3 million new jobs last year, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said Wednesday — the highest number of new jobs created in any year since 2000 — as Europe picked up speed after several years of slow growth. The EU executive, the European Commission, said the figures, recording 2.9 million new jobs, were "the best for a long time." The 12 countries that used the euro currency last year added 1.9 million new jobs, the highest number since 2001, Eurostat said.

According to the most recent EU estimates, the EU economy grew 2.9 percent last year with domestic demand driving the upswing as Europe also profited from strong exports to the rest of the world.