EU economy falls below expectations
EU economy falls below expectations
The European Union ( EU ) statistics office Eurostit said today that GDP in the euro area fell on a quarterly basis by 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2020, after rising at a record rate of 12.4% in the third quarter. On an annual basis, the gross domestic product in 19 member states in the euro area declined by 5.0% compared to 4.3% in the third quarter and previous estimates indicated a contraction of 5.1% in the fourth quarter on an annual basis. The data also showed that on a quarterly basis, employment increased by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2020 after rising by 1.0% in the third quarter, while on an annual basis, employment fell by 2.0% compared to the same period last year.