Euro Zone Shrinks In The First Quarter

The Euro Zone shrinks in the first quarter. The said contraction occurred in line with expectations.

Eurostat announced the first quarter statistics on the Eurozone economy. According to Eurostat data, the 19-member Euro Zone contracted by 0.6 percent quarter-on-quarter in the January-March period and entered technical recession. On an annual basis, the Euro Zone economy contracted by 1.8 percent. While the economies of Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands shrank in this quarter, the French economy grew by 0.4 percent on a quarterly basis. In the EU (European Union), the non-seasonal GDP fell 0.4 percent in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the previous quarter, while it decreased by 1.7 percent compared to the first quarter of 2020. Again, according to Eurostat data, employment decreased by 0.3 percent in the EU and the Euro Zone in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the previous quarter.