Euro zone labour market transformation puzzles ECB: Holzmann
MARRAKECH, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The euro zone labour force is going through a transformation that policymakers are struggling to understand, even as it could have broader implications for how monetary policy is being transmitted, European Central Bank policymaker Robert Holzmann said.
The labour market remains tight despite economic stagnation and sharply higher interest rates, and "astonishingly" labour force participation is actually going up, Holzmann, Austria's central bank chief, told a conference on Thursday.
He argued that the role of manual labour was changing, people in the post-pandemic era preferred to work fewer hours and the youngest generations entering the workforce was developing vastly different work habits.
"We have a pattern of changes, which are difficult is to explain and which are a major part of the transmission," Holzmann told a conference. (Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Alex Richardson)
