In the United Kingdom, the latest figures show the economy grew by 0.7% in the three months to March 2018.
This is down from a 0.8% increase in the same period a year ago.
However, the unemployment rate is still at 10.9%, a far cry from the levels seen in the past few years.
Unemployment was 7.2% in January 2018, according to the Office for National Statistics.
This was the highest since April 2017.
As the BBC notes, unemployment is a major concern in a country which has the world’s highest infant mortality rate.
The OECD estimates that the global labour force is currently down by 1.3 million people.
The UK government announced in January that it would cut benefits for new parents to £1,000 a year, but this has not materialised yet.
However the news is good for the country’s GDP which is expected to grow by 0,5% in 2019.
The latest GDP figures are published every three months.
For the UK, the biggest annual growth figures are in the second quarter of 2019, which will see GDP grow by 1% in 2018.
However this is still down on the 0.9% growth seen in 2018, which is the biggest quarterly increase in four years.
For 2018, the UK’s economy grew 0.3% compared to the previous year.
However for 2019, this is up 0.2%, to 1.2%.
This is the second biggest annual increase in three years.
The biggest annual drop in three quarters is seen in Germany, which has been hit hard by the eurozone crisis and a sharp decline in oil prices.
The fall in oil exports has contributed to the slump in growth.
The European Central Bank has raised interest rates for the first time in two years, while inflation is at its lowest since the 1970s.
The economy has grown by just 0.4% in recent years.
However as the BBC points out, the figures show that unemployment is still high.
It has risen by 3.2 million people in the last year, the highest in 20 years.
In contrast, the EU has seen a drop of 2.4 million people since 2010, and the UK is forecast to see a 1.5% increase.
In other words, the economy is still very much struggling.
However it is likely that the economy will pick up in 2019 as the eurozone continues to recover.
This will also be good news for the UK government, which could have to raise tax to help balance the books.
