Seasonally adjusted GDP grew by 0.4% and the number of people employed by 0.3% in the euro area in the first quarter of this year, according to a flash estimate by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) on Wednesday 15 May.
Compared to the last quarter of 2018, GDP growth is up by 0.2 percentage points (see EUROPE 12194/31). In the European Union, seasonally adjusted GDP grew by 0.5% over the same period, compared with 0.3% in the previous quarter. Compared with the first quarter of 2018, GDP, still seasonally adjusted, also increased by 1.2% in the euro area and by 1.5% in the EU. However, these rates conceal significant disparities, with GDP rising by 1.5% in Hungary last quarter, while it fell by 0.3% in Latvia over the same period.
In terms of the number of employed persons, the increase in the European Union is similar to that observed in the euro area in the first quarter of 2019, i.e. an increase of 0.3%. In the last quarter of 2018, this increase represented 0.3% in the euro area and 0.2% in the EU. Compared to the first quarter of 2018, the number of persons employed increased by 1.3% in the euro area and by 1.1% in the EU. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)