2024 is expected to be the year when the economy will show signs of recovery from the consequences of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the energy price crisis. The eurozone countries recorded a growth in gross domestic product (GDP) of 0.2% in the second quarter of the year, slightly below the 0.3% recorded at the beginning of the year. Two figures which are repeated in the case of the twenty-seven EU countries.
The data were updated this Friday by the Community statistical office Eurostat. In this revision, it corrects downwards the growth of 0.3% that it showed in its estimate at the end of July for both the countries of the single currency and the EU as a whole. Thus, in both cases, the expansion of GDP leaves to 0.2% between April and June.
The Spanish economy shows one of the best behaviors of the EU. It was the fourth fastest growing economy in the second half of the year, with a rebound of 0.8%, similar to that of Croatia and only behind the advance of 1% in the Netherlands, 1.1% in Greece and 1.5% that Poland recorded. Spanish GDP recorded an increase of 0.8% between April and May. A figure that corresponds to the expansion of 0.8% at the beginning of 2024 and 0.7% at the end of 2023.
The Community Statistics Office updates growth data for France, which recorded a rebound of 0.2% between April and June after starting 2024 with a GDP increase of 0.3%. Like Italy, the French economy is experiencing a slowdown in growth. The Italian economy, for its part, is showing similar dynamics, with growth of 0.2% in the second quarter and 0.3% in the first. The country led by Giorgia Meloni ended the final stretch of 2023 with a GDP increase of 0.1%.
The economy which recorded a The worst performance between April and June was that of the Irish, whose GDP contracted by 1%, after increasing by 0.6% in the first quarter. In second place is Latvia, whose GDP recorded a decrease of 0.9% in the second quarter, after increasing by 0.8% between January and March. Next comes Austria, which, after starting the year with a slight growth of 0.1%, fell by 0.4% in the second quarter.
According to Eurostat analysis, household consumption had no impact on GDP in the second quarter. It fell by 0.1% in the euro area and the EU, after increasing by 0.3% and 0.4% respectively at the beginning of the year. Public spending had a positive impact, recorded an increase of 0.6% in the Twenty and 0.7% in the Twenty-Seven. The trade balance was positive. Exports increased by 1.4% in both regions, after starting 2024 with a rebound of 1.1% in the euro area countries and 0.7% in the EU, and imports decreased by 0.5% in the euro area and 0.6% in the EU.
And we must not forget Germany, which recorded the sixth worst performance. in the second tranche of 2024. It is true that the economy is beginning to show signs of recovery and this is reflected in the monetary policy of the European Central Bank. The upward trend in interest rates is now at 4.25%, after the first drop in the price of silver last June.
Job
The number of employed people increased by 0.2% in the euro area and 0.1% in the EU in the second quarter of 2024. Two figures in any case lower than those recorded in the first quarter, when employment increased by 0.3% in both zones.
Spain recorded a 0.4% increase in the employment rate between March and April, in line with the 0.4% at the beginning of the year. A dynamic that the employment data in Italy reproduce. Germany, for its part, recorded an increase of 0.1%, as at the beginning of the year. Note similar figures to those of the German economy in France. In Greece, employment fell by 0.2% in the second half of the year after increasing by 0.5% in the first quarter.
In the second quarter of 2024, labour productivity decreased by 0.3% in the euro area and remained stable in the EU compared with the same quarter of the previous year. On the other hand, Productivity per sheet worked recorded a decrease of 0.2% in the euro area, compared to the previous quarter, and increased by 0.1% in the EU.
