European consumer confidence remained little changed in May as a worsening fiscal crisis and rising unemployment clouded the growth outlook.

An index of household sentiment in the 17-nation euro area rose to minus 19.3 from minus 19.9 in April, the European Commission in Brussels said in an initial estimate today. Confidence slumped to minus 21.3 in December, which was the lowest in more than two years. Economists had forecast a drop to minus 20.5, the median of 27 estimates in a Bloomberg survey showed.

The commission is scheduled to publish the wider indicator of euro-region economic confidence on May 30.

To contact the reporter on this story: Simone Meier in Zurich at smeier@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net