OREANDA-NEWS. The number of persons employed increased by 0.3% in both the euro area (EA19) and the EU28 in the first quarter of 2016 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 2015, employment increased by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.4% in the EU28. These figures are seasonally adjusted.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment increased by 1.4% in both zones in the first quarter of 2016 (after +1.2% in the euro area and +1.3% in the EU28 in the fourth quarter of 2015).

Eurostat estimates that, in the first quarter of 2016, 231.3 million men and women were employed in the EU28, of which 152.6 million were in the euro area. These are the highest levels since the third quarter of 2008 in the EU28, and the fourth quarter of 2008 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.

Employment growth in Member States

Among Member States for which data are available, the Czech Republic (+1.5%), Lithuania (+1.3%) and Hungary (+1.0%) recorded the highest increases in the first quarter of 2016 compared with the previous quarter. Poland (-0.5%), Greece, Latvia and the Netherlands (all -0.1%) recorded decreases.