Hours worked remained stable in the Euro Area and up 0.2% in the EU

Employment has been trending up slightly in Europe based on the latest estimates coming out of the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat).

Eurostat reports that the number of employed persons increased by 0.5 per cent in both the Euro Area and in the European Union (EU) during the fourth quarter of 2021, compared with the previous quarter. In the third quarter of 2021, employment rose by 1.0 per cent in the Euro Area and by 0.9 per cent in the EU.

The number of persons employed increased by 1.1 per cent in the Euro Area and by 1.2 per cent in the EU at the end of the year 2021, after 1.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent decrease in Euro Area and EU, respectively in 2020. However, compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment rose by 2.2 per cent in the Euro Area and by 2.1 per cent in the EU in the fourth quarter of 2021, after a 2.1 per cent increase in both zones in the third quarter of 2021.

The number of persons employed increased by 1.1 per cent in the Euro Area and by 1.2 per cent in the EU at the end of the year 2021, after 1.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent decrease in Euro Area and EU, respectively in 2020. However, compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment rose by 2.2 per cent in the Euro Area and by 2.1 per cent in the EU in the fourth quarter of 2021, after 2.1 per cent increase in both zones in the third quarter of 2021.

Work hours within Europe

Eurostat notes that hours worked remained stable in the euro area and increased by 0.2 per cent in the EU in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared with the previous quarter. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year the hours worked increased by 5.0 per cent in the Euro area and 5.1 per cent in the EU.

For the year 2021 as a whole, the number of hours worked increased by 5.3 per cent in the Euro Area and by 5.1 per cent in the EU, after 7.8 per cent and 6.5 per cent fell in Euro Area and EU, respectively in 2020. In comparison with the previous fourth quarter, Hungary (+1.2%), Denmark (+1.1%), Spain and Malta (both +1.0%) recorded the highest growth in number of persons employed.

Employment declined in Latvia (-0.3%) and remained stable in Bulgaria, Portugal, and Sweden (0.0%). Based on seasonally adjusted figures, Eurostat estimates that in the fourth quarter of 2021, 210.9 million people were employed in the EU, of which 161.9 million were in the Euro Area.

Notably, “in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, employment in persons in the euro area was 0.6 million above the level of the fourth quarter of 2019, and 1.2 million above this level in the EU,” Eurostat explains.

Evolution of labour productivity in the euro area and EU

Eurostat points out that the mixture of gross domestic product and employment data allows an estimation of labour productivity.

According to Eurostat, “the analysis of growth compared to the same quarter of the previous year shows that productivity growth fluctuated around one per cent for both zones between 2013 and 2018 before the COVID-19 pandemic caused high volatility in 2020″.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, productivity based on persons increased by 2.4 per cent in the Euro Area and 2.6 per cent in the EU compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Based on hours worked, productivity compared to the same quarter of the previous year decreased by 0.2 per cent in both the Euro Area and the EU.