OUTPUT, DEMAND AND JOBS

OUTPUT, DEMAND AND JOBS America's industrial output rose by 0.5% in December, lifting its 12-month growth rate to 5.9%, the fastest since March 1995. In the year to November, industrial production growth quickened to 4.9% in Italy and 5.0% in the Netherlands. Dutch unemployment fell to 4.9% of the labour force in the three months to December.