Eurostat said, the number of persons employed increased by 0.3% in both the euro area and the EU28 in the first quarter of 2019 compared with the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2018, employment increased by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the EU28.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment increased by 1.3% in the euro area and by 1.2% in the EU28 in the first quarter of 2019 (after +1.3% and +1.2% respectively in the fourth quarter of 2018). These data on employment provide a picture of labour input consistent with the output and income measure of national accounts.

Based on seasonally adjusted figures, Eurostat estimates that in the first quarter of 2019, 240.7 million people were employed in the EU28, of which 159.5 million were in the euro area. These are the highest levels of employment ever recorded in both areas. More specifically, the number of persons employed has increased by 10.8 million in the euro area and 16.6 million in the EU28 since the lowest level of employment after the financial crisis (2013 Q2 for euro area, 2013 Q1 for EU28).