FRANKFURT — Inflation in the eurozone has fallen to its lowest level since 2009, according to official data released on Friday, while unemployment remains in the double digits, reinforcing fears of deflation, a sustained drop in prices that could lead to higher joblessness and slumping growth.
The annual rate of inflation in the 19 countries of the eurozone was minus 0.6 percent in January, after falling to an annual rate of 0.2 percent in December, according to a preliminary estimate by Eurostat, the European Union statistics bureau.
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Many economists argue that the central bank stimulus, which will involve buying €60 billion in eurozone assets each month starting in March, will be of little use unless eurozone governments do their part by creating conditions for better job creation.
Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated the amount in dollars of government bonds and other debt that the European Central Bank plans to buy. It is $1.24 trillion, not $1.24 billion.
