The final data published by Eurostat showed that in the second quarter the economy grew by 0.2%, slowing down compared to the first quarter (+0.3%) and falling below the preliminary estimate (+0.3%). Economists had expected GDP growth of 0.3%. The GDP of the EU countries also rose by 0.2% after an increase of 0.3% in the first three months of 2024.
In annual terms, the eurozone economy grew by 0.6%, as expected, after an increase of 0.5% in the first quarter, while EU GDP grew by 0.8% after growing by 0.7%.
Poland (+1.5%) recorded the highest increase of GDP compared to the previous quarter, followed by Greece (+1.1%) and the Netherlands (+1.0%). The highest decreases were observed in Ireland (-1.0%), Latvia (-0.9%) and Austria (‑0.4%).
The data also showed that in the second quarter household final consumption expenditure decreased by 0.1% in the eurozone and increased by 0.1% in the EU (after +0.3% in the eurozone and +0.4% in the EU in the first quarter). Government final consumption expenditure increased by 0.6% in the eurozone and by 0.7% in the EU (after +0.1% in both zones in the previous quarter). Exports increased by 1.4% both in the eurozone and in the EU (after +1.1% in the eurozone and +0.7% in the EU), and imports increased by 0.5% in the eurozone and by 0.6% in the EU (after -0.6% and -0.5% respectively).
A separate report showed that the number of employed in the eurozone rose by 0.2% after an increase of 0.3% in the first quarter. Economists also expected growth of 0.2%. In annual terms, employment growth slowed to 0.8%, as expected, from 1.0% in the first quarter. Ireland, Lithuania (both +1.1%) and Estonia (+0.8%) recorded the highest growth compared with the previous quarter. The highest decrease of employment was recorded in Romania (-0.5%) and Finland (-0.4%).