Eurostat: EU economy grows by 0.5%, Eurozone by 0.4%

Brussels -- Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office, announced on Friday that the euro area’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.4 percent in the third quarter of 2026 compared with the second quarter, while the European Union recorded growth of 0.5 percent. In its first estimate, Eurostat said that economic growth in both the euro area and the EU slowed compared with the second quarter of the year, when GDP had risen by 0.6 percent in the euro area and 0.7 percent in the EU. It added that seasonally adjusted GDP grew by 1.3 percent year-on-year in the euro area and by 1.5 percent in the EU during the third quarter of 2026, compared with the same period last year, down from 1.2 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively, in the second quarter. Regarding the labor market, Eurostat clarified that employment remained stable in both the euro area and the EU in the third quarter compared with the previous quarter, after rising by 0.1 percent in both areas in the second quarter. It noted that employment grew by 0.4 percent year-on-year in both the euro area and the EU during the third quarter, compared with 0.5 percent in the euro area and 0.4 percent in the EU in the second quarter of this year. (End) A.R.N. / M.N.F.