Аccording to an estimate published by Eurostat, in the first quarter of 2021, seasonally adjusted GDP decreased by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.1% in the EU compared with the previous quarter. Economists had expected a 0.6% decrease in the euro area. These declines follow falls in the fourth quarter of 2020 (-0.6% in the euro area and -0.4% in the EU) after a strong rebound in the third quarter of 2020 (+12.6% in the euro area and +11.7% in the EU). Before, the sharpest decreases since the time series started in 1995 were observed in the second quarter of 2020 (-11.5% in the euro area and -11.1% in the EU).

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP decreased by 1.3% in the euro area and by 1.2% in the EU in the first quarter of 2021, after -4.7% and -4.4% respectively in the previous quarter.

During the first quarter of 2021, GDP in the United States increased by 1.6% compared with the previous quarter (after +1.1% in the fourth quarter of 2020). Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, GDP increased by 0.4% (after -2.4% in the previous quarter).