GDP up by 0.4% and employment up by 0.3% in the euro area

Seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.4% in the euro area (EA19) and by 0.5% in the EU28 during the first quarter of 2019, compared with the previous quarter, according to an estimate published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, GDP had grown by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU28.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 1.2% in the euro area and by 1.5% in the EU28 in the first quarter of 2019, after +1.2% and +1.5% respectively in the previous quarter.

During the first quarter of 2019, GDP in the United States increased by 0.8% compared with the previous quarter (after +0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2018). Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, GDP grew by 3.2% (after +3.0% in the previous quarter).

GDP growth by Member State

Among Member States for which data are available for the first quarter of 2019, Croatia (+1.8%) recorded the

highest growth compared with the previous quarter, followed by Hungary and Poland (both +1.5%). A decrease

was observed in Latvia (-0.1%).

Employment growth in the euro area and EU28

The number of persons employed increased by 0.3% in both the euro area and the EU28 in the first quarter of

2019 compared with the previous quarter.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, employment increased by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the EU28.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment increased by 1.3% in the euro area and by 1.2% in the EU28 in the first quarter of 2019 (after +1.3% and +1.2% respectively in the fourth quarter of 2018).

These data on employment provide a picture of labour input consistent with the output and income measure of national accounts.

Employment growth in Member States

Among Member States for which data are available for the first quarter of 2019, Hungary (+1.0%), Spain (+0.7%), as well as Greece, Lithuania and the Netherlands (all +0.6%) recorded the highest growth compared with the previous quarter.

Decreases were observed in Estonia (-0.4%), while employment in Finland and Sweden remained stable.

Employment levels in the euro area and EU28

Based on seasonally adjusted figures, Eurostat estimates that in the first quarter of 2019, 240.7 million people were employed in the EU28, of which 159.5 million were in the euro area. These are the highest levels of employment ever recorded in both areas.

More specifically, the number of persons employed has increased by 10.8 million in the euro area and 16.6 million in the EU28 since the lowest level of employment after the financial crisis (2013 Q2 for euro area, 2013 Q1 for EU28).