Tweede kwart 2010: werkloosheid stijgt met 0.6% (en)

The number of persons employed in the euro area1 (EA16) and in the EU271 was stable in the second 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 first quarter of 2010, employment was also stable in the euro area and declined by 0.2% in the EU27. These figures are seasonally adjusted.

Falls in employment were recorded in agriculture (-0.9% in the euro area and -0.4% in the EU27), manufacturing

(-0.5% and -0.3% respectively), construction (-0.3% and -0.4%) and trade, transport & communication services

(-0.2% in both zones). Employment in financial services & business activities increased by 0.6% in both the euro area and the EU27, and grew by 0.2% and 0.3% respectively in other services (which mainly includes public administration, health and education).

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment fell by 0.6% in both the euro area and the EU27 in the second quarter of 2010. In the first quarter of 2010, employment decreased by 1.2% and 1.5% respectively.

Eurostat estimates that, in the second quarter of 2010, 220.7 million men and women were employed in the EU27, of which 144.3 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.

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  The euro area (EA16) consists of Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

The EU27 includes Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Methodological information:

Estimates of employment in the European quarterly national accounts are compiled in accordance with the European System of Accounts 1995 (ESA95). National accounts measure employment alongside other variables such as GDP, output, compensation of employees, etc. ESA95 (chapter 11) defines employment in line with International Labour Organisation criteria.

Employment covers employees and self-employed working in resident production units (i.e. the domestic employment concept). Unless otherwise stated, all employment estimates in this release use persons as the measurement unit. ESA95 acknowledges other possible measures for employment: jobs, full-time equivalents and total hours worked.

The methodology used by Eurostat to estimate the European aggregates in this release is the same as for the European quarterly national accounts (for details see Eurostat News Release 77/2006 of 14 June 2006, annex I). Estimates of employment in national accounts may differ from results of other statistics and surveys, in particular the labour force survey. For further details see News Release 77/2006 of 14 June 2006, annex II. The estimate of 2010 Q2 employment growth presented in this release is based on Member States’ data, as available, including confidential figures for the Netherlands and Ireland. For this quarter it covers 99% of employment in the euro area and 92% in the EU27.

More data on European quarterly national accounts are available on Eurostat's website ("Data" / "Economy and finance" / "National Accounts"). Additional general information on European national accounts is also available in the metadata files linked to the tables.

Release policy:

Eurostat publishes a first quarterly estimate of employment in national accounts 75 days after the end of the reference period (‘t+75 days’). There is a second estimate after t+100 days, published together with the second regular GDP release (scheduled for 6 October 2010). There is no specific employment News Release at t+100 days.

Euro area and EU employment figures for earlier quarters are revised in both first and second employment estimates.