According to the report from European Commission, In May 2021, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) increased again strongly, gaining 4.0 points in both the EU and the EA compared to April.1 At 113.9 (EU) / 114.5 (EA) points, the ESI scores markedly above its long-term average and pre-pandemic level, close to its December 2017 peak. The Employment Expectations Indicator (EEI) also saw an additional strong increase (+2.4 points to 110.3 in the EU and +2.9 points to 110.1 in the euro area), bringing it further above its long-term average in both areas.

In the EU, the ESI’s increase was driven by improving confidence in the services sector, but all other surveyed business sectors (i.e. industry, retail trade, construction) and consumers recorded an improvement. The ESI is well above its long-term average, and rose markedly in all of the six largest EU economies, mostly so in Italy (+11.0), followed by Poland (+5.1), France (+5.0), the Netherlands (+3.2), Germany (+2.8) and Spain (+2.3).