Employment increased by 1.3% in the euro area and by 1.2% in the EU28 in the first quarter of 2019 when compared with the same quarter of the previous year, according to data from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

When compared to the fourth quarter of 2018, employment increased by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the EU28.

Eurostat’s seasonally adjusted estimates found that in the first quarter of 2019, 240.7 million people were employed in the EU28, of which 159.5 million were in the euro area. These are the highest levels of employment ever recorded in both areas.

Among member states for which data are available for the first quarter of 2019, Hungary (+1.0%), Spain (+0.7%), as well as Greece, Lithuania and the Netherlands (all +0.6%) recorded the highest growth compared with the previous quarter. Decreases were observed in Estonia (-0.4%), while employment in Finland and Sweden remained stable.

Eurostat also published data on GDP growth in the euro area and EU28. The seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 1.2% in the euro area and by 1.5% in the EU28 in the first quarter of 2019 when compared to the same period last year. When compared to the previous quarter, the seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.4% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU28 during the first quarter of 2019.