Employment up by 0.1% in euro area and by 0.3% in the EU28

USPA NEWS - The number of persons employed increased by 0.1% in the euro area (EA19) and by 0.3% in the EU28 in the first quarter of 2015 compared with the previous quarter, according to national accounts estimates published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In the fourth quarter of 2014, employment increased by 0.1% in the euro area and 0.2% in the EU28. These figures are seasonally adjusted. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment increased by 0.8% in the euro area and by 1.1% in the EU28 in the first quarter of 2015 (after +0.9% and +1.1% respectively in the fourth quarter of 2014).

Eurostat estimates that, in the first quarter of 2015, 228.1 million men and women were employed in the EU28, of which 150.3 million were in the euro area. These figures are seasonally adjusted, according Eurostat. These quarterly data on employment provide a picture of labour input consistent with the output and income measure of national accounts.

Among Member States for which data are available, Latvia and Hungary (+1.5%) recorded the highest increases in the first quarter of 2015 compared with the previous quarter, followed by Estonia (+0.9%), Spain (+0.8%), the Czech Republic, Ireland, Portugal and the United Kingdom (all +0.7%). Greece (-0.8%) and Malta (-0.4%) recorded decreases, while employment was stable in Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands.