Seasonally adjusted GDP decreased by 12.1% in the euro area and by 11.7% in the European Union in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the previous quarter, according to flash estimates released by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) on 14 August.
"These were by far the sharpest declines observed since time series started in 1995," the agency notes in its press release.
Among the twenty Member States for which data are available, the fall in quarterly GDP was most marked in Spain (-18.5%), Hungary (-14.5%), Portugal (-13.9%), France (-13.8%) and Italy (-12.4%). In Germany, wealth generation decreased by 10.1%. The drop was least severe in Finland (-3.2%), Lithuania (-5.1%), Denmark (-7.4%) and Latvia (-7.5%).
During the first quarter, GDP decreased by 3.6% in the euro area and by 3.2% in the EU.
Sharp rise in unemployment
In the field of employment, the number of persons employed fell by 2.8% in the euro area and by 2.6% in the EU in the second quarter of 2020 compared with the previous quarter.
Again, these are the largest declines since the start of the time series in 1995, according to Eurostat.
In the first quarter of 2020, employment fell by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.1% in the EU. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)