First quarter of 2013 compared with fourth quarter 2012 employment down by 0.5% in euro area and by 0.2% in EU27 -1.0% and -0.4% respectively compared with the first quarter of 2012

The number of persons employed decreased by 0.5% in the euro area (EA17) and by 0.2% in the EU27 in the first quarter of 2013 compared with the previous quarter, according to national accounts estimates published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In the fourth quarter of 2012, employment decreased by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.1% in the EU27. These figures are seasonally adjusted.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment fell by 1.0% in the euro area and by 0.4% in the EU27 in the first quarter of 2013 (after -0.8% and -0.5% respectively in the fourth quarter of 2012).

Eurostat estimates that, in the first quarter of 2013, 221.9 million men and women were employed in the EU27, of which 145.1 million were in the euro area. These figures are seasonally adjusted.

These quarterly data on employment provide a picture of labour input consistent with the output and income measure of national accounts.

Among those Member States for which data are available, Lithuania (2.4%), Estonia (2.3%) and Latvia (1.0%) recorded the highest growth rates compared with the previous quarter, Malta stood at 0.3%, while Greece (-2.3%), Portugal (-2.2%) Spain and Cyprus (both -1.3%) and Italy (-1.2%) registered the largest decreases.

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