Is Eurozone inflation driven by supply shocks rather than demand?
Core argument: Euro area wage growth has remained below 4% on negotiated wage and labor cost index measures, in line with pre-COVID levels, while American wage growth set new records.
American inflation is now largely driven by cyclical or demand-sensitive components like housing and labor-intensive services. Eurozone inflation is still driven mainly by rapid price increases in components like food, energy, and manufactured goods that are more representative of supply shocks than excess demand. Fundamentally, the biggest difference between Europe's and America’s inflation situation comes from wage growth. Measured through negotiated wage growth or the labor cost index, Euro area wage growth has remained tempered, below 4%, and in line with pre-COVID levels as American wage growth set new records. Growth in listed wages on job postings in the Euro Area was 5.1% over the last year and less than 2% the year before. The comparable number in the US has grown by over 6%/yr for the past two years.

