The eurozone contracted for two consecutive quarters, data out Thursday shows, meaning it has entered a technical recession, signaling a loss of growth momentum in the single currency area buffeted by energy shocks, war, inflation, and monetary tightening.
Eurozone GDP fell by 0.1 percent over the first three months of 2023 compared with the previous quarter, according to the figures from Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency. GDP was also revised downward for the last quarter of 2022, to -0.1 percent from 0 percent previously forecast.
Thursday’s data is a downward revision on previous flash estimates released in April that showed growth of 0.1 percent in the eurozone for first quarter of the year. These were corrected downward following German data showing the country contracted for a second consecutive quarter, slipping into a recession.
Employment continued to increase in the eurozone, by 0.6 percent in the first quarter this year, up from 0.3 percent in the previous quarter.
www.politico.eu/article/eurozone-is-in-a-technical-recession/