Data published by Eurostat showed that in the 1st quarter, the gross domestic product of the eurozone rose 0.3%, as expected, after a 0.1% contraction in the 4th quarter. This was the strongest growth since the 3rd quarter of 2022. Among the bloc's largest economies, Germany expanded by 0.2%, while France's GDP also grew by 0.2%. Italy's economy grew by 0.3% compared to the 4th quarter, while Spain's GDP increased by 0.7%.
In annual terms, eurozone economic growth accelerated to 0.4%, as expected, from 0.1% in the previous quarter. Among the bloc's largest economies, the GDP in Germany contracted 0.2%, while the economy in France grew 1.1%, Italy expanded 0.6% and Spain GDP jumped 2.4%
Meanwhile, the GDP of the European Union countries grew by 0.3% in quarterly terms and by 0.4% per annum. In the fourth quarter, GDP remained unchanged over the quarter and grew by 0.2% per annum.
Separate data also showed that in the first quarter, the number of employed persons in the eurozone increased by 0.3% after a similar increase in the fourth quarter. Economists also expected an increase of 0.3%. In the EU, the number of employed persons rose by 0.2%, as in the previous quarter. On an annualized basis, employment in the eurozone grew by 1.0%, slowing compared to the fourth quarter (+1.2%). Meanwhile, in the EU, employment grew by 0.7% after an increase of 1.0% in the 4th quarter.