Euro area GDP up 0.3% in 4Q21, employment rises 0.5%

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.4% in the EU, compared with the previous quarter, according to a flash estimate by the EU statistical office Eurostat on Tuesday.

GDP in the third quarter of 2021 had grown by 2.3% in the euro area and by 2.2% in the EU, it said.

Annually, GDP increased by 5.2% in both the euro area and the EU in 2021.

Poland topped with 7.7% GDP growth in the final quarter of last year, compared with the same quarter of the previous year. It was followed by Hungary with 7.1% and Italy at 6.4%.

The number of employed persons increased by 0.5% in both the euro area and the EU in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to the previous quarter, Eurostat said.

In the third quarter of 2021, employment had increased by 1% in the euro area and by 0.9% in the EU, it noted.

"Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment increased by 2.1% in both the euro area and the EU in the fourth quarter of 2021, after 2.1% in both areas in the third quarter of 2021," it said in a statement

Annually, employment increased by 1.1% in the euro area and 1.2% in the EU last year, compared to the previous year.