The number of persons employed decreased by 0.1% in the euro area (EA17) and remained stable in the EU27 in the second quarter of 2013 compared with the previous quarter, according to national accounts estimates published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the first quarter of 2013, employment decreased by 0.4% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the EU27. These figures are seasonally adjusted.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment fell by 1.0% in the euro area and by 0.4% in the EU27 in the second quarter of 2013 (after -1.0% and -0.5% respectively in the first quarter of 2013).

Eurostat estimates that, in the second quarter of 2013, 221.8 million men and women were employed in the EU27, of which 145.0 million were 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 by Member States

Among those Member States for which data are available, Estonia (+1.5%), Lithuania and Portugal (both +0.8%), Luxembourg (+0.7%), the Czech Republic and Ireland (both +0.5%) recorded the highest growth rates compared with the previous quarter, while Cyprus (-2.1%), Spain (-0.5%), the Netherlands, Slovenia and Slovakia (all -0.4%) registered the largest decreases.