GDP up by 0.3% and employment up by 0.3% in the euro area (2024)

Announcement

Following recommendations for a harmonised European revision policy for national accounts and balance of payments, EU countries will carry out a benchmark revision of their national accounts estimates in 2024. The purpose of this benchmark revision is to implement changes introduced by the amended ESA 2010 regulation, and to incorporate new data sources and other methodological improvements. Most of the revised quarterly and annual country data are expected to be released by Eurostat between June and October 2024, and will be progressively integrated in European estimates. The impact of these revisions is expected to be limited, but still noticeable for some European aggregates and more pronounced for certain Member States. For further details, please consult the available documentation on Eurostat’s website.

GDP growth in the euro area and the EU

In the first quarter of 2024, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 0.3% in both the euro area and the EU, compared with the previous quarter, according to an estimate published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the fourth quarter of 2023, GDP had declined by 0.1% in the euro area and had remained stable in the EU.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 0.4% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU in the first quarter of 2024, after +0.2% in the euro area and +0.3% in the EU in the previous quarter.

During the first quarter of 2024, GDP in the United States increased by 0.3% compared to the previous quarter (after +0.8% in the fourth quarter of 2023). Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, GDP increased by 2.9% (after +3.1% in the previous quarter).

GDP growth by Member State

Malta (+1.3%) recorded the highest increase of GDP compared to the previous quarter, followed by Cyprus (+1.2%) and Croatia (+1.0%). Decreases were observed in Denmark (-1.8%), Estonia (-0.5%) and the Netherlands (‑0.1%).

GDP components and contributions to growth

GDP components evolved in the first quarter of 2024 as follows:

household final consumption expenditure increased by 0.2% in both the euro area and the EU (after +0.2% in the euro area and +0.3% in the EU in the previous quarter),

government final consumption expenditure was stable in the euro area and increased by 0.1 in the EU (after +0.6% in the euro area and +0.5% in the EU in the previous quarter),
gross fixed capital formation decreased by 1.5% in both the euro area and the EU (after +0.8% and +0.7% respectively),

exports increased by 1.4% in the euro area and by 1.0% in the EU (after +0.2% in the euro area and +0.4% in the EU), and

imports decreased by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the EU (after +0.6% and +0.5% respectively).

The contribution to GDP growth from:

household final consumption expenditure was positive for both the euro area and the EU (+0.1 percentage points – pp),

government final expenditure was negligible for both zones (+0.0 pp for both),
gross fixed capital formation was negative for both the euro area and the EU (-0.3 pp for both),

changes in inventories was negative for both euro area (-0.3 pp) and the EU (-0.1 pp), and
exports minus imports was positive for both the euro area (+0.9 pp) and the EU (+0.6 pp).

Employment growth in the euro area and EU

The number of employed persons increased by 0.3% in both the euro area and the EU in the first quarter of 2024, compared with the previous quarter, after +0.3% in the euro area and +0.2% in the EU in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment increased by 1.0% in the euro area and by 0.9% in the EU in the first quarter of 2024, after +1.2% in the euro area and +1.0% in the EU in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Hours worked increased by 0.3% in both the euro area and the EU in the first quarter of 2024, compared with the previous quarter. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the hours worked increased by 0.2% in the euro area and were stable in the EU.

These data provide a picture of labour input consistent with the output and income measure of national accounts.

Employment growth in Member States

In the first quarter of 2024, Romania (+2.4%), Malta (+1.4%) and Portugal (+1.1%) recorded the highest growth of employment in persons compared with the previous quarter. Decline of employment was recorded in Poland (-0.6%), Slovakia(-0.3%) and Sweden (-0.1%).

Employment levels in the euro area and EU

Based on seasonally adjusted figures, Eurostat estimates that in the first quarter of 2024, 218.0 million people were employed in the EU, of which 169.9 million were in the euro area.

Evolution of labour productivity in the euro area and EU

The combination of GDP and employment data allows an estimation of labour productivity.

In the first quarter of 2024, productivity based on persons decreased by 0.6% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

Based on hours worked, productivity compared with the same quarter of the previous year decreased by 0.3% in the euro area and remained stable in the EU.

Tables

Growth rates of GDP in volume(based on seasonally adjusted* data)
	Percentage change compared with the previous quarter				Percentage change compared with the same quarter of the previous year
	2023Q2	2023Q3	2023Q4	2024Q1	2023Q2	2023Q3	2023Q4	2024Q1
Euro area	0.1	0.0	-0.1	0.3	0.6	0.2	0.2	0.4
EU	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.3	0.6	0.2	0.3	0.5
Belgium	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.3
Bulgaria	0.4	0.4	0.5	0.4	2.0	1.8	1.7	1.8
Czechia	0.3	-0.8	0.4	0.3	-0.1	-0.6	0.2	0.2
Denmark	-0.9	0.3	2.7	-1.8	0.7	0.6	3.5	0.2
Germany	-0.1	0.1	-0.5	0.2	0.2	-0.1	-0.2	-0.2
Estonia	-0.3	-0.7	-0.6	-0.5	-3.0	-3.1	-2.4	-2.1
Ireland	-0.8	-2.4	-3.6	0.9	-0.5	-5.7	-9.1	-5.9
Greece	1.1	0.0	0.3	0.7	2.7	2.1	1.3	2.1
Spain	0.5	0.5	0.7	0.7	2.0	1.9	2.1	2.4
France	0.7	0.1	0.3	0.2	1.4	0.9	1.2	1.3
Croatia	1.6	-0.7	2.0	1.0	3.3	1.9	4.4	3.9
Italy	-0.1	0.4	0.1	0.3	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.7
Cyprus	-0.2	1.3	1.0	1.2	2.2	2.5	2.3	3.4
Latvia	-0.3	-0.1	0.4	0.9	-0.3	0.2	-0.1	0.9
Lithuania	2.4	-0.1	-0.2	0.8	0.8	0.1	0.1	2.9
Luxembourg	0.3	-1.3	0.0	0.5	-0.4	-2.0	-0.6	-0.4
Hungary	0.0	0.9	0.0	0.8	-2.1	-0.2	0.5	1.7
Malta	0.7	2.3	0.2	1.3	5.0	7.2	4.4	4.6
Netherlands**	-0.4	-0.3	0.3	-0.1	-0.1	-0.6	-0.2	-0.6
Austria	-1.3	-0.2	0.1	0.2	-1.6	-1.7	-1.3	-1.3
Poland	-0.2	1.1	0.0	0.5	-0.5	0.2	1.7	1.3
Portugal	0.1	-0.2	0.7	0.8	2.6	1.9	2.1	1.5
Romania	1.0	0.9	-0.6	0.4	2.8	3.5	1.1	1.8
Slovenia	0.9	-0.1	0.9	0.0	1.8	1.8	2.4	1.8
Slovakia	0.8	0.6	0.6	0.7	1.5	1.8	2.2	2.7
Finland**	0.6	-1.0	-0.8	0.2	-0.5	-1.6	-1.5	-1.2
Sweden**	-0.5	0.1	0.0	0.7	-0.5	-0.7	-0.1	0.7
Iceland***	1.1	-2.5	0.9	-0.9	4.9	2.6	0.6	-1.4
Norway	-0.2	-0.5	1.6	0.2	0.9	-1.5	1.0	1.1
Switzerland	-0.3	0.3	0.3	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.7	0.8
United States	0.5	1.2	0.8	0.3	2.4	2.9	3.1	2.9
:Data not available Growth rates to the previous quarter and to the same quarter of the previous year presented in this table are both based on seasonally and calendar adjusted figures, except where indicated. Unadjusted data are not available for all Member States that are included in GDP flash estimates. Percentage change compared with the same quarter of the previous year calculated from calendar adjusted data. **The seasonal adjustment does not include a calendar adjustment for Iceland. Source datasets: namq_10_gdp and naidq_10_gdp (for United States data); gross value added by industry is available in namq_10_a10

Growth rates of employment in persons*
	Percentage change compared with the previous quarter				Percentage change compared with the same quarter of the previous year
	2023Q2	2023Q3	2023Q4	2024Q1	2023Q2	2023Q3	2023Q4	2024Q1
Euro area	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.3	1.5	1.4	1.2	1.0
EU	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.3	1.2	1.2	1.0	0.9
Belgium	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.9	0.6	0.5	0.5
Bulgaria	0.0	-0.1	0.4	0.1	1.2	-0.6	1.2	0.7
Czechia	1.0	-0.7	-0.1	0.0	0.9	0.5	0.4	0.3
Denmark	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.7	1.7	1.3	0.9	1.1
Germany	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.9	0.7	0.5	0.3
Estonia	-1.5	-0.9	0.6	0.5	3.4	2.2	2.2	-1.3
Ireland	0.6	0.4	0.3	0.7	3.1	3.6	3.4	1.9
Greece	0.2	0.2	0.6	0.6	1.3	0.7	1.0	1.5
Spain	0.0	1.3	0.8	1.0	3.1	3.6	3.6	2.9
France	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	1.2	0.9	0.7	0.5
Croatia	-0.7	1.0	0.4	0.3	1.1	1.9	1.9	1.1
Italy	0.1	0.1	0.6	0.4	1.5	1.7	1.6	1.2
Cyprus	0.4	0.6	0.4	0.6	1.5	1.3	1.1	2.2
Latvia	-0.1	-0.1	-1.0	0.3	0.3	-0.2	-0.8	-0.9
Lithuania	0.7	1.4	0.0	0.2	0.8	1.9	2.1	2.6
Luxembourg	0.5	0.2	0.3	0.2	2.5	2.0	1.7	1.2
Hungary	0.0	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.0	0.2	0.1	0.6
Malta	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.4	6.4	6.4	6.3	5.8
Netherlands	0.1	0.2	0.4	0.4	1.6	1.2	1.0	1.2
Austria	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.2	1.0	0.8	0.4	0.4
Poland	0.3	-0.2	-0.3	-0.6	-0.1	0.3	-0.3	-1.0
Portugal	0.6	0.1	-0.1	1.1	1.2	1.0	1.2	1.8
Romania	-0.5	0.5	1.5	2.4	-1.9	-0.6	0.3	4.0
Slovenia	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2	1.4	1.0	0.7	0.6
Slovakia	0.1	0.0	0.0	-0.3	0.1	0.2	0.3	-0.1
Finland	0.5	-0.5	-0.6	0.2	1.5	0.1	-0.5	-0.1
Sweden	0.2	0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.4	0.9	0.3	0.0
Iceland	0.9	0.6	0.5	0.2	5.3	4.5	3.6	2.1
Norway	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.3	1.5	1.0	0.6	0.5
Switzerland	0.8	-0.2	0.4	0.3	2.8	2.2	2.2	1.4
* Percentage change in the number of persons employed in resident production units compared with the previous quarter based on seasonally adjusted data. Percentage change compared with the same quarter of the previous year based on non-seasonally adjusted data. See predefined tables: tec00108 (quarterly change), teina305 (annual change), tec00109 (levels) Source dataset: namq_10_a10_e (including breakdowns by industry)

Growth rates of employment in hours worked*
	Percentage change compared with the previous quarter				Percentage change compared with the same quarter of the previous year
	2023Q2	2023Q3	2023Q4	2024Q1	2023Q2	2023Q3	2023Q4	2024Q1
Euro area	0.2	0.0	0.1	0.3	1.1	0.9	0.8	0.2
EU	-0.1	0.0	0.2	0.3	0.7	0.7	0.5	0.0
Belgium	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:
Bulgaria	-0.9	0.1	0.6	0.0	-0.3	-1.6	1.1	0.4
Czechia	0.2	-0.7	1.6	-1.8	-0.3	-0.9	0.6	-1.9
Denmark	0.8	-0.1	0.1	0.1	0.9	0.6	0.5	0.4
Germany	0.6	-0.1	-0.8	0.7	0.7	-0.1	0.1	-0.6
Estonia	-0.4	2.3	-2.2	-1.0	2.6	-0.1	0.3	-2.4
Ireland	-1.1	0.9	-0.6	1.2	1.1	1.9	0.4	-0.2
Greece	-0.8	-4.0	4.7	1.7	2.2	0.7	1.6	1.6
Spain	1.5	0.0	0.1	-0.3	0.8	1.9	2.9	-0.1
France	0.3	0.1	0.2	-0.1	1.1	0.8	0.4	1.0
Croatia	-0.6	1.0	0.0	0.0	1.2	1.9	1.8	1.1
Italy	-0.5	0.5	0.8	0.6	1.3	1.8	1.8	1.7
Cyprus	-0.2	1.3	0.8	0.3	1.3	1.7	1.5	2.6
Latvia	-2.6	-0.3	1.4	1.1	-2.0	-1.2	-0.7	-0.5
Lithuania	2.2	1.1	-0.3	0.9	2.5	4.3	1.7	3.4
Luxembourg	-1.9	-0.1	0.0	4.4	1.3	0.8	-0.4	1.4
Hungary	-0.5	0.2	-0.4	0.5	-1.6	-1.1	-2.9	-2.2
Malta	-0.3	-5.6	2.5	3.5	6.5	2.8	1.2	-0.2
Netherlands	-0.1	0.2	0.1	0.4	1.7	-0.1	-0.5	-0.3
Austria	-0.1	0.1	-1.0	-0.6	0.5	1.3	-1.1	-2.2
Poland	-1.1	-0.2	0.0	-0.5	-1.2	0.0	-1.0	-1.8
Portugal	-0.7	0.3	-1.5	-0.3	2.6	1.0	-0.9	-2.4
Romania	-0.3	0.3	1.5	2.5	-2.0	-0.7	0.5	4.2
Slovenia	0.7	1.6	1.1	1.1	-2.6	2.8	3.3	4.3
Slovakia	-1.0	-0.2	0.8	-0.6	-0.5	0.2	1.3	-1.6
Finland	0.2	-1.2	-0.8	0.8	0.1	-2.4	-2.7	-2.3
Sweden	-1.1	-0.2	0.7	-0.1	-0.4	-2.1	-0.5	-1.6
Iceland	0.6	0.2	0.2	-2.8	4.5	3.3	2.0	-1.7
Norway	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.5	-0.2	0.0	0.0	-3.0
:Data not available * Percentage change in the number of hours worked in resident production units compared with the previous quarter based on seasonally adjusted data. Percentage change compared with the same quarter of the previous year based on non-seasonally adjusted data. Source dataset: namq_10_a10_e (including breakdowns by industry)

Overview on the evolution of main expenditure components

GDP and expenditure components seasonally adjusted, chain-linked volumes
		Percentage change compared with the previous quarter		Percentage change compared with the same quarter of the previous year
		Euro area	EU	Euro area	EU
GDP	2023 Q2	0.1	0.1	0.6	0.6
	2023 Q3	0.0	0.1	0.2	0.2
	2023 Q4	-0.1	0.0	0.2	0.3
	2024 Q1	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.5
Household & NPISH final consumption expenditure	2023 Q2	0.1	0.3	0.6	0.3
	2023 Q3	0.4	0.4	-0.3	-0.2
	2023 Q4	0.2	0.3	0.7	0.7
	2024 Q1	0.2	0.2	0.8	1.1
Government final consumption expenditure	2023 Q2	0.3	0.3	0.7	0.8
	2023 Q3	0.7	0.7	1.5	1.6
	2023 Q4	0.6	0.5	1.4	1.8
	2024 Q1	0.0	0.1	1.6	1.8
Gross Fixed Capital Formation	2023 Q2	0.2	0.4	1.7	2.1
	2023 Q3	0.1	0.2	0.7	1.2
	2023 Q4	0.8	0.7	1.6	1.7
	2024 Q1	-1.5	-1.5	-0.5	-0.2
Exports	2023 Q2	-1.0	-0.9	0.0	0.5
	2023 Q3	-1.3	-0.7	-2.7	-1.7
	2023 Q4	0.2	0.4	-2.5	-1.2
	2024 Q1	1.4	1.0	-0.8	-0.2
Imports	2023 Q2	-0.2	-0.3	-0.1	-0.2
	2023 Q3	-1.6	-1.1	-4.0	-3.6
	2023 Q4	0.6	0.5	-2.4	-2.0
	2024 Q1	-0.3	-0.2	-1.5	-1.0

Contribution of expenditure components to change of GDP seasonally adjusted, chain-linked volumes
		Contribution in percentage points to GDP change compared with the previous quarter		Contribution in percentage points to GDP change compared with the same quarter of the previous year
		Euro area	EU	Euro area	EU
Household & NPISH final consumption expenditure	2023 Q2	0.1	0.1	0.3	0.2
	2023 Q3	0.2	0.2	-0.1	-0.1
	2023 Q4	0.1	0.1	0.4	0.4
	2024 Q1	0.1	0.1	0.4	0.6
Government final consumption expenditure	2023 Q2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2
	2023 Q3	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.4
	2023 Q4	0.1	0.1	0.3	0.4
	2024 Q1	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.4
Gross Fixed Capital Formation	2023 Q2	0.0	0.1	0.4	0.5
	2023 Q3	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.3
	2023 Q4	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.4
	2024 Q1	-0.3	-0.3	-0.1	0.0
Changes in Inventories*	2023 Q2	0.4	0.1	-0.3	-0.7
	2023 Q3	-0.4	-0.5	-0.8	-1.3
	2023 Q4	-0.3	-0.4	-0.8	-1.2
	2024 Q1	-0.3	-0.1	-0.6	-0.9
Exports	2023 Q2	-0.5	-0.5	0.0	0.3
	2023 Q3	-0.7	-0.4	-1.4	-0.9
	2023 Q4	0.1	0.2	-1.3	-0.7
	2024 Q1	0.7	0.5	-0.5	-0.1
Imports	2023 Q2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
	2023 Q3	0.8	0.6	2.1	1.9
	2023 Q4	-0.3	-0.3	1.3	1.1
	2024 Q1	0.1	0.1	0.8	0.5

GDP and expenditure components in the first quarter of 2024 in millions of euro, seasonally adjusted, at current prices
	Euro area	EU
GDP	3 681 310.3	4 353 839.7
Household & NPISH final consumption expenditure	1 924 564.8	2 277 100.7
Government final consumption expenditure	783 414.9	927 937.3
Gross Fixed Capital Formation	796 020.3	946 907.5
Changes in Inventories*	- 4 847.9	- 10 521.3
Domestic Demand	3 499 152.1	4 141 424.1
Exports	1 875 058.7	2 265 391.8
Imports	1 692 900.5	2 052 976.2
* Changes in inventories include acquisitions less disposals of valuables. Source dataset: namq_10_gdp

Notes for users

Revisions

The reliability of GDP and employment flash estimates was tested by dedicated working groups and revisions of subsequent estimates are continuously monitored. Further information can be found on Eurostat website.

With these estimates, euro area and EU employment and GDP figures for earlier quarters are revised.

Flash estimates of employment and GDP growth were published in News Release issued on 15 May 2024. They were based on a more limited data set than the one used for the present News Release and additionally, on preliminary estimates that have now been revised by some Member States. Revisions for the last quarter are highlighted in bold in the table below:

Growth rates estimates	To the previous quarter (Q/Q-1)				To the previous year (Q/Q-4)
	Previous		Current		Previous		Current
	Euro area	EU	Euro area	EU	Euro area	EU	Euro area	EU
GDP	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.5
Employment	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.3	1.0	0.7	1.0	0.9

The European estimates published today include benchmark revisions from France and Sweden. All estimates presented in this release may be revised with the t+110 database update scheduled for 19 July 2024, which will reflect the impact of countries’ benchmark revisions as available.

Release schedule

This news release presents estimates for euro area and EU GDP and employment aggregates based on national accounts transmission from all Member States due after t+2 months.

A further estimation is done at around t+110 days after some countries transmit updated estimates.

To increase the timeliness of key indicators, Eurostat also publishes flash estimates for GDP (after around 30 and 45 days) and employment (after around 45 days). The flash estimates are based on estimates provided by most EU Member States on a voluntary basis.

Methods and definitions

European quarterly national accounts are compiled in accordance with the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010). They include key policy indicators on GDP and employment.

Gross domestic product (GDP) at market prices measures the production activity of resident producer units. Growth rates are based on chain-linked volumes.

Employment covers employees and self-employed working in resident production units (domestic concept). Employment flash estimates are limited to total employment in persons, but regular estimates also cover hours worked and industry breakdowns.

Labour productivity is compiled as the ratio of economic output (GDP, chain-linked volumes with reference year 2010) to labour input (total employment measured in persons or hours worked, for all industries, according to the domestic concept).

The method used for compilation of European GDP and employment estimates is the same as for previous releases.

Geographical information

Euro area (EA20): Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

European Union (EU27): Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.

For more information

Website section on national accounts, notably information on European GDP and employment estimates
Database section on national accounts and Eurostat metadata on quarterly national accounts
Statistics Explained articles on measuring quarterly GDP and presentation of updated quarterly estimates
Country specific metadata
Country specific metadata on the recording of Ukrainian refugees in main aggregates of national accounts
European System of Accounts 2010
Euro indicators dashboard
Release calendar for Euro indicators
European Statistics Code of Practice

GDP up by 0.3% and employment up by 0.3% in the euro area (2024)

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What is the current global GDP? ›

As of 2022, the global GDP amounted to over 100 trillion U.S. dollars. Looking at individual countries, the United States has the largest in the world with 25 trillion U.S. dollars as of 2022, amounting to about a quarter of the global GDP.