Eurozone GDP growth eases, but employment levels pick up

(Sharecast News) - Gross domestic product growth across the eurozone eased slightly in the second quarter, Eurostat confirmed on Thursday, though employment levels rose a little more than expected. Economic output increased by just 0.1% in the three months to June, with the growth rate falling significantly from the 0.6% expansion recorded in the first quarter - though in line with economists' predictions.

This was the sixth successive rise in quarterly GDP growth, but the weakest rate recorded since the fourth quarter of 2023.

That meant the annual rate of GDP growth came in at 1.4% in the second quarter, in line with Eurostat's preliminary estimates released two weeks ago and down from 1.5% in the first quarter.

Ireland continued to record the strongest rate of economic expansion when compared with last year at 16.2%, though down from 18.3% in the first quarter, followed by Cyprus (3.3%), Lithuania (3%) and Spain (2.8%); Germany (0.4%), and Italy (0.4%) recorded the weakest growth.

Meanwhile, employment levels increased 0.1% over the first quarter but 0.7% higher than the same period in 2024 - in line with the 0.7% annual growth seen in the first quarter and slightly ahead of the 0.6% increase expected by analysts.