Seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.4% in the European Union in the third quarter, compared with the previous quarter, according to an estimate released by the EU’s statistical office Eurostat.
In the second quarter, GDP increased by 0.8% in the euro area and 0.7% in the EU.
The countries with the highest wealth generation were Ireland (+2.3%), followed by Cyprus, Malta and Romania (all +1.3%). Growth was moderate in Italy (0.5%) and Germany (0.4%), and sluggish in France and Spain (both 0.2%).
Ten Member States experienced a fall in GDP. The largest decreases were observed in Estonia (-1.8%), Latvia (-1.7%) and Slovenia (-1.4%), Greece (-0.5%). GDP also fell in Hungary and Croatia (-0.4%), Finland (-0.3%), the Czech Republic and the Netherlands (both -0.2%).
Employment. In the third quarter, the number of people employed increased by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the EU compared to the previous quarter.
Spain (+1.4%), Malta and Cyprus (both +1.0%) recorded the strongest growth of people in employment compared to the previous quarter, while the largest decreases were registered in Finland (-0.8%), Romania (-0.6%) and Poland (-0.4%). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)