Seasonally adjusted GDP decreased by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.1% in the European Union in the first quarter of 2021 compared with the previous quarter of 2020, according to the estimate published by the EU statistical office (Eurostat) on Tuesday 8 June.
In mid-May, Eurostat expected GDP to fall by 0.3% and 0.4% respectively in the euro area and the EU (see EUROPE 12722/22).
Ireland (+7.8%), Croatia (+5.8%), Estonia (+4.8%) and Greece (+4.4%) registered the highest increases, while the largest decreases were recorded in Portugal (-3.3%), Slovakia (-2.0%), Germany (-1.8%) and Latvia (-1.7%). GDP fell in Spain (-0.5%) and France (-0.1%) in the first quarter of this year. It increased in Italy (+0.1%).
On a seasonally adjusted basis, GDP volumes remain 5.1% below their fourth quarter 2019 peak for the euro area and 4.6% for the EU. In the US, GDP was 0.9% lower than in the fourth quarter of 2019, but returned to the level of the second quarter of 2019.
Employment. Eurostat also confirms that the number of people employed decreased by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the EU during the period under review compared to the previous quarter.
The strongest growth in employment was recorded in Hungary (+1.1%) and Spain (+1.0%), while employment fell most sharply in Latvia (-3.9%) and Greece (-1.7%). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)