The number of persons employed in the euro area (EA16) was stable in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the previous quarter, according to national accounts estimates published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the same period, the number of persons employed in the EU27 decreased by 0.2% (455 000 persons). In the fourth quarter of 2009, employment declined by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU27. These figures are seasonally adjusted.

Falls in employment were recorded in manufacturing (-1.0% in the euro area and -1.2% in the EU27) and construction (-1.5% and -2.3% respectively). Trade, transport & communication services remained stable in the euro area, but decreased by 0.2% in the EU27. Financial services & business activities increased by 0.5% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU27 and other services (which mainly includes public administration, health and education) by 0.5% and 0.4% respectively. Agriculture rose by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU27.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment fell by 1.2% in the euro area and by 1.5% in the EU27 in the first quarter of 2010. In the fourth quarter of 2009, employment decreased by 2.0% and 2.1% respectively.

Eurostat estimates that, in the first quarter of 2010, 220.5 million men and women were employed in the EU27, of which 144.3 million were in the euro area. These figures are seasonally adjusted.