The FINANCIAL — The number of persons employed in the euro area1 (EA16) fell by 0.5% (712 000 persons) in the third quarter of 2009 compared with the previous quarter, according to national accounts estimates published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.
In the same period, the number of persons employed in the EU271 also decreased by 0.5% (1 019 000 persons). In the second quarter of 2009, employment declined by 0.5% in the euro area and by 0.6% in the EU27. These figures are seasonally adjusted.
All sectors of the economy recorded a decrease in employment, except other services (which mainly includes public administration, health and education), which grew by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the EU27. Decreases were recorded in construction (-2.0% and -1.9% respectively), manufacturing (-1.7% and -1.6%), agriculture (-1.1% and -0.4%), financial services & business activities (-0.5% and -0.4%) and trade, transport & communication services (-0.1% and -0.2%).
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment fell by 2.1% in the euro area and by 2.0% in the EU27 in the third quarter of 2009. In the second quarter of 2009, employment decreased by 1.8% and 1.7% respectively.
Eurostat estimates that, in the third quarter of 2009, 221.6 million men and women were employed in the EU27, of which 144.8 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.
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 press 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 press release 77/2006 of 14 June 2006, annex II. The estimate of 2009 Q3 employment growth presented in this release is based on Member States’ data, as available, including confidential figures for Ireland and the Netherlands. For this quarter it covers 99% of employment in the euro area and 92% in the EU27.
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