Brussels, 16/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - According to first estimates published on Monday 16 March by Eurostat, the number of people in employment in the Euro area and EU27 was down by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with the previous quarter. In the same period, the number of persons employed in the EU also decreased by 0.3% (672,000 persons). In the third quarter of 2008, employment declined by 0.1% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the EU. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment remained stable (0.0%) in both the euro area and the EU27 in the fourth quarter of 2008, after +0.6% in both areas in the third quarter of 2008. Over the whole year of 2008, employment grew by 0.8% (1 137 000 persons) in the euro area and also by 0.8% (1,760,000 persons) in the EU, compared with +1.8% in both zones in 2007. Eurostat estimates that, in the fourth quarter of 2008, 225.3 million men and women were employed in the EU, of which 145.4 million were in the euro area. (O.L./transl.rh)