Eurozone unemployment drops, inflation jumps, but Greece still mired in misery

Europe's economic recovery is gathering speed, with growth up, inflation spiking sharply higher and unemployment at its lowest in nearly eight years, official figures showed Tuesday.

In perhaps the most striking development, European Union statistics agency Eurostat said inflation across the 19 countries that share the euro currency rose sharply in January - a move that will likely encourage critics who think it's time for the European Central Bank to start withdrawing its stimulus programs.

Inflation jumped to an annual 1.8 percent in January, from 1.1 percent the month before. That's the highest level since February 2013 and means inflation is arguably at the ECB's goal of just below 2 percent.

Eurostat also said eurozone growth inched up by a quarterly rate of 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 from the previous three-month period when growth was 0.4...