JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (Reuters) -An influx of foreign workers has given the euro zone’s economy a boost in recent years, helping offset shorter working hours and lower real wages, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Saturday.

Migration into the European Union pushed its population to a record last year despite declining births but governments are placing curbs on new arrivals in response to domestic discontent.

Lagarde listed a rise in the number of workers from outside the 20 countries that share the euro as a factor that supported the bloc’s economy despite a growing preference for fewer working hours and a fall in living standards in some sectors.

“Although they represented only around 9% of the total labour force in 2022, foreign workers have accounted for half

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