EMPLOYMENT : EMPLOYMENT RATE CONTINUES TO FALL IN EU.

• Position: Brief article

The number of persons employed in the eurozone fell by 0.5% (712,000 persons) in the third quarter of 2009, compared with the previous quarter, according to national accounts estimates published by Eurostat, on 14 December(1). During the same period, the number of persons employed in the EU27 also declined by 0.5% (1,019,000 persons). In the second quarter of 2009, employment had already declined by 0.5% in the eurozone and 0.6% in the EU27. These figures are seasonally adjusted.

Eurostat estimates that in the third quarter of 2009, 221.6 million men and women were employed in the EU27, of which 144.8 million in the eurozone.

All sectors of the economy registered a decline in employment, with the exception of other services (which mainly includes public administration, health and education), which grew by 0.3% in the eurozone and by 0.2% in the EU27...