The number of persons employed increased by 1.4% in the euro area (EA19) and by 1.5% in the EU28 in the second quarter of 2016 compared with the same quarter in the previous year, according to data published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

 Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment increased by 0.4% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU28 in the second quarter of 2016 (after +1.4% in both zones in the first quarter of 2016). The Eurostat figures are seasonally adjusted. 

Eurostat estimates that, in the second quarter of 2016, 232.1 million men and women were employed in the EU28 (highest level ever recorded); of which 153.3 million were in the euro area (highest level since the fourth quarter of 2008). Among Member States for which data are available, Estonia (+1.7%), Ireland (+1.1%) and Lithuania (+1.0%) recorded the highest increases in the second quarter of 2016 compared with the previous quarter. A decrease was observed in Croatia (-0.4%), while employment remained stable in Finland.