Brussels, 15/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - The number of people employed in both the euro area and the EU27 was stable in the third quarter of 2010 compared with the previous quarter, according to national accounts estimates published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the second quarter of 2010, employment grew by 0.1% in both zones (seasonally adjusted figures).
Eurostat adds that: - falls in employment were recorded in construction (-1.1% in the euro area and -1.0% in the EU27) and manufacturing (-0.3% and -0.2% respectively); - employment in agriculture fell by 0.2% in the euro area, but grew by 0.4% in the EU27; - employment increased in financial services and business activities by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the EU27. Employment in other services (which mainly include public administration, health and education) rose by 0.2% and 0.1% respectively.
Eurostat notes, too, that (1) employment fell by 0.2% in both the euro area and the EU27 in the third quarter of 2010, compared with the same quarter of 2009, and in the second quarter of 2010, employment decreased by 0.6% in both zones; (2) in the third quarter of 2010, 221.2 million men and women were employed in the EU27, 144.5 million of whom were in the euro area (seasonally adjusted figures). Com-G.B./transl.rt)