Eurozone growth slowed slightly by 0.3% recorded in the first quarter of the year up to 0.2% between April and June, approaching a stagnation pointaccording to the final data published this Friday by Eurostat. The data give new arguments to the European Central Bank (ECB) will cut interest rates for the second time at its meeting next week.
The Community Statistical Office lowered its initial estimate by a tenth published in August, mainly due to the radical change in the Irish GDP data, which is heavily dependent on the activity of multinationals based in the country. If 20 days ago it was calculated that the Irish economy had grown by 1.2%, now a decrease of 1% is indicated.
France’s data is also revised downwards (0.2% instead of the 0.3% initially calculated) and Austria (-0.4% instead of 0%). In the European Union as a whole, growth was only 0.2% in the second quarter, one tenth less than between January and March.
GDP growth in euro area countries in the second quarter of the year
Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP up 0.6% year-on-year in the Eurozone and 0.8% in the EU in the second quarter of 2024.
In the United States, on the other hand, GDP accelerated, rising from 0.4% recorded in the first quarter of the year to 0.7% between April and June. On an annual basis, the American economy is growing at a rate of 3.1%.
Poland (1.5%) is the EU country that recorded the highest growth rate between April and June, followed by Greece (1.1%), the Netherlands (1%) and Spain (0.2%). The largest declines correspond precisely to Ireland (-1%), Latvia (-0.9%) and Austria (-0.4%). Among the major powers in the Eurozone, the one in the worst shape is Germany (-0.1%)..
For his part, Job creation is also slowing. The number of employed persons increased by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.1% in the EU in the second quarter of 2024 compared with the previous quarter. In the first quarter of 2024, employment increased by 0.3% in both areas.
Employment growth rate in EU countries in the second quarter of 2024
Hours worked increased by 0.2% in the eurozone and 0.1% in the EU in the second quarter of 2024. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the number of hours worked increased by 1.4% in the euro area and by 1.2% in the EU, according to Eurostat data.
In the second quarter of 2024, Ireland, Lithuania (1.1%) and Estonia (0.8%) recorded the strongest employment growth compared to the previous quarter. Spain ranks seventh, with an increase of 0.4%.The largest decline in employment was recorded in Romania (-0.5%) and Finland (-0.4%).
Combining GDP and employment data allows us to estimate labor productivity. In the second quarter of 2024, Productivity fell by 0.3% in the eurozone and remained stable in the EU. In terms of hours worked, productivity compared to the same quarter of the previous year decreased by 0.2% in the euro area and increased by 0.1% in the EU.
