EMU Employment Stabilized in Third Quarter

The number of people employed in the euro zone remained stable in the third quarter of 2010, compared with the previous quarter, while the second quarter figure was upwardly revised from 0.0% Q/Q to 0.1% Q/Q.

The details show that employment dropped in construction (-1.1% Q/Q), manufacturing (-0.3% Q/Q) and agriculture (-0.2% Q/Q), while employment rose in financial services & business activities (0.3% Q/Q) other services (0.2% Q/Q) and trade, transport and communication services (0.1% Q/Q).

Compared with the same period last year, employment fell by 0.2% Y/Y.

Also in employment data, there is a remarkable difference between countries as in Germany (0.3% Q/Q), France (0.2% Q/Q) and for example Belgium (0.3% Q/Q), where employment started to pick up, while in Spain (-0.7% Q/Q), Greece (-0.7% Q/Q) and Portugal (-0.4% Q/Q) companies continued to cut jobs.

Content provided by: KBC Bank