What's going on?

While the eurozone�s economy has consistently outperformed America�s through the first half of 2017, two influential surveys of business activity published on Monday suggest that the gap between them might be starting to close…

What does this mean?

According to the surveys, economic expansion in the eurozone slowed down for the second month in a row in July. Meanwhile, American business activity grew at its fastest rate in six months � making it more likely that overall economic growth in 2017 will surpass that of last year.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: The momentum of eurozone growth might be slowing, but it�s still doing well overall.

The eurozone�s economy is on track to grow this year at one of its fastest paces over the past decade. While activity appears to be cooling slightly, the economists behind the survey think the recent slowdown may just be a temporary �speed bump� and that Europe�s economy will continue to do �impressively� well this year.

For you personally: Things are actually pretty good right now � at least relative to recent years.

If you live in one of the world�s major economies, you�re more likely to get hired for a new job right now than at virtually any other time since the 2008 financial crisis. Unemployment rates are near record lows in the UK, Germany, and the US, and they�re falling in all European countries. Problems remain, including the lacklustre pace of wage growth and elevated levels of underemployment (e.g. people working part-time when they would rather be working full-time). The relatively high cost of housing in many cities is also perhaps a drag on your personal economic outlook. But this is as good as it�s been in a while.