Ageing is not just a story about declining economic potential,  ING Bank says in their most recent report. The other side of the coin shows rising demand for products and services that are tailored to the needs of the elderly. In this report, we try and find out where demand for elderly care and housing is most promising and we attempt to do this by comparing eleven European countries.

The share of unemployed people increased slightly from 3.1% to 3.3% in January as a result of typical seasonality during the winter months. The labour market remains tight, as the number of job vacancies further increased to a new record high.

The result of external trade in November was a pleasant surprise, although for the entire year 2018 the trade balance will end up with a lower surplus than the year before. Labour market pressures did not let up at the end of the year. The higher share of unemployed in December was caused by seasonal effects, and the increasing number of vacancies shows that demand for labour remains strong.