The number of employed persons in the Euro Area increased 0.2 percent on quarter to 158.3 million in the third quarter of 2018, below a 0.4 percent rise in the previous period and in line with preliminary estimates. It is the smallest gain in employment since the first quarter of 2015. Employment rose in France (0.4 percent) and Spain (0.6 percent), but fell in Germany (-0.2 percent) and Italy (-0.1 percent). Year-on-year, employment went up 1.3 percent, the least since the fourth quarter of 2015, and below a 1.5 percent increase in the second quarter. Employment Change in the Euro Area averaged 0.21 percent from 1995 until 2018, 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 0.50 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 0.50 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Euro Area Employment Change is projected to trend around 0.60 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.