According to the report from the European Commission, in September 2021, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) remained unchanged in the EU (at 116.6) and broadly stable also in the euro area (+0.2 points to 117.8). Economists had expected an decrease to 116.9 in the euro area. The Employment Expectations Indicator (EEI) increased further (+1.0 point to 113.6 in the EU and +0.8 points to 113.6 in the euro area) reaching its highest level since summer/autumn 2018 in both areas.

In the EU, the stability of the ESI in September resulted from improving confidence in construction and among consumers being offset by worsening confidence in services and retail trade. Industry confidence remained unchanged. Amongst the largest EU economies, the ESI rose in Spain (+1.7), Germany (+0.8), the Netherlands and Poland (both +0.6), while it worsened in France (-1.3) and Italy (-0.9).