2024. 02. 17. 18:00
Eurozone economic performance stagnated in the fourth quarter following a slight contraction in the previous quarter, according to a Wednesday report by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
In the fourth quarter of last year, seasonally adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) did not change as expected in the euro zone and increased by 0.1 percent in the European Union compared to the previous quarter. In the third quarter, the gross domestic product in both regions decreased by 0.1 percent compared to the previous quarter.
Among the bloc’s largest national economies, Germany’s GDP shrank by 0.3 percent, primarily due to the weakness of the industrial sector, while France’s GDP stagnated. In contrast, the economic growth of Spain and Italy accelerated to 0.6 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
Compared to a year earlier, in the fourth quarter the gross domestic product increased by 0.1 percent in the euro zone and by 0.3 percent in the European Union. In the third quarter, GDP growth in both regions stagnated at zero percent.
Looking at the full year of 2023, euro area GDP grew by 0.5 percent, after 3.4 percent in 2022 and 5.9 percent in 2021.
In the fourth quarter of last year, the number of employed people in both the euro area and the EU increased by 0.3 percent compared to the previous quarter. In the third quarter, growth was 0.2 percent in both regions on a quarterly basis.
Compared to a year earlier, employment in the euro area increased by 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter, and in the EU by 1.2 percent. In the third quarter, the annual growth of employment in the euro area and 1.2 percent in the EU was also 1.3 percent.
The number of employed people increased by 1.4 percent in the euro area and by 1.3 percent in the European Union compared to the previous year as a whole in 2023.