EU: Employment up 1.4 pct in Q2

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA

The European Union saw an annual hike of 1.4 percent in employment in the second quarter of this year, according to Eurostat on Tuesday.

"Eurostat estimates that, in the second quarter of 2018, 238.9 million men and women were employed in the EU28, of which 158 million were in the euro area," the EU's statistical office said, adding:

"These are the highest levels ever recorded in both areas."

The eurozone/euro area or EA19 represents member states that use the single currency -- euro -- while EU28 defines all member countries of the bloc.

On a yearly basis, the highest growth rate in the number of persons employed was seen in Malta -- up 5.5 percent --, while Romania saw a 1.5 percent yearly decline.

In the EU, the information and communication sector plus professional and support service activities saw the highest increases among all industries -- up 3.1 percent in both.

The employment of the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector in the EU28 recorded an annual drop of 2.8 percent in the second quarter of this year.

The EU's unemployment rate in July was 6.8 percent, the lowest figure recorded in the 28-member EU bloc since April 2008, according to Eurostat.