Employment down by 0.5% in Euro zone

The number of persons employed decreased by 0.5 % in the 17-member Euro Area and by 0.2 % in the 27-member EU in the first quarter of 2013, compared with the previous quarter, the EU’s statistical office said on Friday. According to figures published by Eurostat, employment had decreased by 0.3 pct in the Euro Area and by 0.1 pct in the EU in the fourth quarter of 2012. Compared with the first quarter of 2012, employment fell by 1.0 pct in the euro area and by 0.4 pct in the EU. Eurostat estimates that 221.9 million men and women were employed in the EU, of which 145.1 million were in the Euro Area in the first quarter of 2013.