The number of employed fell 0.2 percent in the final three months of the year against the previous quarter to 144.3 million, pulled down by job losses in the industrial sector, European Union statistics office Eurostat said. Employment during the fourth quarter fell 2.0 percent year-on-year. The data showed that although the euro zone is recovering from the worst economic crisis since World War II, it continues to shed jobs, hitting people’s spending power and undermining future growth.
“The 0.2 percent quarterly fall was the sixth in a row, confirming that the modest economic recovery has yet to encourage hiring,” said Jennifer McKeown, analyst at Capital Economics. The euro zone’s gross domestic product grew by 0.1 percent in last year’s final three months against the third quarter and contracted by 2.1 percent from a year earlier.
Eurostat said employment fell 1.1 percent quarter-on-quarter in manufacturing, 0.4 percent in construction, 0.5 percent in trade, transport and communications and 0.1 percent in the financial sector. Employment in the public sector, health care and administration increased 0.2 percent. The steepest drops were registered in Greece and Spain, both at 0.8 percent.
The data strengthened expectations that the European Central Bank would keep its main interest rate at a historic low of 1.0 percent for many months.
