The number of employed persons in the Euro Area rose 0.3 percent on quarter to 159.5 million in the first quarter of 2019, the same as in the previous period and in line with market expectations, a preliminary estimate showed. Employment advanced in Spain (0.7 percent), the Netherlands (0.6 percent) and Slovakia (0.3 percent). Year-on-year, employment rose percent 1.3 percent, the same as in the last quarter of 2018 and slightly above market consensus of 1.2 percent. Employment Change in the Euro Area averaged 0.21 percent from 1995 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 0.80 percent in the first quarter of 2000 and a record low of -0.70 percent in the first quarter of 2009.
Employment Change in Euro Area is expected to be 0.40 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Employment Change in Euro Area to stand at 0.30 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Euro Area Employment Change is projected to trend around 0.20 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.