17/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - According to initial estimates published by Eurostat on Wednesday 17 June 2009, the number of persons employed in the eurozone fell by 0.8% (1,220,000) in the first quarter of 2009 compared with the previous quarter, when it fell by 0.4%. In the EU27, employment also fell by 0.8% (1,916,000) compared with a 0.3% fall in Q408. Compared with the first quarter of 2008, employment declined by 1.2% in both zones in the first quarter of 2009. Eurostat estimates that in the first quarter of 2009, 223.8 million men and women were employed in the EU27, 146.2 million of whom in the eurozone. (A.B./transl.fl)