Eurozone Q1 Employment Growth Remains Stable

(RTTNews) - Eurozone employment increased at a stable pace for the second straight quarter in the three months ended March, figures from Eurostat showed Tuesday.

The number of employed persons grew 0.3 percent quarterly in the first quarter, the same rate of rise as in the previous two quarters.

There were 152.6 million employed in the euro area. This was the highest level since the fourth quarter of 2008.

Employment in manufacturing climbed 0.3 percent over the quarter and those in construction gained by 0.2 percent. At the same time, agriculture, forestry and fishing sector registered a decline of 0.2 percent.

On an annual basis, employment growth quickened to 1.4 percent in the first quarter from 1.2 percent in the previous three-month period.

In the EU28, employment advanced 0.3 percent sequentially and by 1.4 percent yearly in the March quarter.