Seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.1% in the euro area (EA19), by 0.2% in the EU27, by 0.8% in Cyprus, but decreased by -0.7% in Greece during the fourth quarter of 2019, compared with the previous quarter, according to an estimate published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
In the third quarter of 2019, GDP had grown by 0.3% in the euro area by 0.4% in the EU27, 0.5% in Cyprus and 0.4% in Greece.
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 1.0% in the euro area, by 1.2% in the EU27, by 3.2% in Cyprus and 1.0% in Greece, in the fourth quarter of 2019, after +1.3%, +1.6%, +3.3% and 2.3% respectively in the previous quarter.
For the year 2019 as a whole, GDP grew by 1.2% in the euro area and by 1.5% in the EU27, after +1.9% and +2.1% respectively in 2018. During the fourth quarter of 2019, GDP in the United States increased by 0.5% compared with the previous quarter (after also +0.5% in the third quarter of 2019). Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, GDP grew by 2.3% (after +2.1% in the previous quarter).
Among Member States for which data are available for the fourth quarter of 2019, Ireland (+1.8%), Malta (+1.7%) and Romania (+1.5%) recorded the highest growth compared with the previous quarter, followed by Lithuania and Hungary (both +1.0%). Negative growth was observed in Greece and Finland (both -0.7%), Italy (-0.3%) and France (-0.1%). In Germany, the GDP remained stable.
According to Eurostat, during the fourth quarter of 2019, household final consumption expenditure rose by 0.1% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU27 (after +0.5% in both zones in the previous quarter).
Gross fixed capital formation increased by 4.2% in the euro area and by 3.6% in the EU27 (after -3.8% and -3.0% respectively). Exports increased by 0.4% in the euro area and 0.2% in the EU27 (after +0.6% and +0.7% respectively). Imports increased by 2.2% in the euro area and by 1.8% in the EU27 (after -1.3% and -0.9% respectively).
Household final consumption expenditure had a positive contribution to GDP growth in both the euro area and the EU27 (+0.1 and +0.2 percentage points โ pp, respectively) and the contribution from gross fixed capital formation was also positive (+0.9 and +0.8 pp respectively).
The contribution of the external balance to GDP growth was negative for the euro area and for the EU27, and the contribution of changes in inventories was also negative for both zones (-0.1 pp for the euro area and -0.2 pp for the EU27).
Furthermore, the number of persons employed increased by 0.3% in both the euro area and the EU27, by 0.7% in Cyprus and by 0.2% in Greece, in the fourth quarter of 2019 compared with the previous quarter.
In the third quarter of 2019, employment increased by 0.2% in the euro area, by 0.1% in the EU27, by 0.7% in Cyprus, but decreased by -0.1% in Greece.
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment increased by 1.1% in the euro area by 1.0% in the EU27, by 3.0$ in Cyprus and by 1.5% in Greece in the fourth quarter of 2019 (after +1.1%, +0.9%, +3.0% and +2.0% respectively in the third quarter of 2019).
For the year 2019 as a whole, employment grew by 1.2% in the euro area and 1.0% in the EU27, after +1.5% and +1.4% respectively in 2018.
Among Member States for which data are available for the fourth quarter of 2019, Malta (+1.6%), Estonia and Ireland (both +1.3%) recorded the highest growth compared with the previous quarter. Decreases were observed in Poland (-0.4%), Czechia (-0.3%) and Italy (-0.1%). In Portugal, the employment remained stable.
Based on seasonally adjusted figures, Eurostat estimates that in the fourth quarter of 2019, 209.3 million people were employed in the EU27, of which 160.7 million were in the euro area. These are the highest levels of employment ever recorded in both areas. More specifically, the number of persons employed has increased by 12.0 million in the euro area and 15.1 million in the EU27 since the lowest level of employment after the financial crisis (2013 Q2 for euro area, 2013 Q1 for EU27).
The combination of GDP and employment data allows an estimation of labour productivity. The analysis of growth compared to the same quarter of the previous years shows that productivity growth (based on employed persons) fluctuated around 1% for both zones between 2013 and 2018. Following a decline in 2018, productivity growth remained close to zero for the euro area and slightly positive for the EU27 in the fourth quarter of 2019.
CNA/THA/GCH 2020
ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY
