The employment rate of first quarter 2013 in the eurozone and the European Union (EU) declined by 0.5 percent and 0.2 percent respectively compared with the previous quarter, the EU's statistical bureau Eurostat said Friday.
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment fell by 1.0 percent in the eurozone and by 0.4 percent in the 27-nation EU in the first quarter of 2013, a sign that the labor market in the eurozone deteriorated due to the ongoing debt crisis, austerity measures and financial market turbulence.
Eurostat estimates that in the first quarter of 2013, 221.9 million men and women were employed in the EU, of which 145.1 million were in the eurozone. These figures are seasonally adjusted.
Among those member states, the largest decreases rate compared with the previous quarter were recorded in debt-ridden countries, such as Greece (-2.3 percent), Portugal (-2.2 percent), Spain and Cyprus (both -1.3 percent) and Italy (-1.2 percent).
The highest growth rates posted in Lithuania (2.4 percent), Estonia (2.3 percent) and Latvia (1.0 percent).
