By Muhammed Ali Gurtas
ANKARA (AA) – The EU saw an annual rise of 0.2 percent in employment in the last quarter of 2018, according to official figures released on Thursday.
Eurostat said the number of persons employed reached 239.8 million as of the fourth quarter of last year, including 158.9 million in the euro area.
The eurozone/euro area or EA19 represents the member states that use the single currency — the euro — while the EU28 defines all member countries of the bloc.
The statistical office said these were the highest levels of employment ever recorded in either area.
The highest growth rate in the number of persons employed was seen in Estonia, up 1.7 percent year-on-year, while in Poland there was a 1.2 percent fall.
The EU ended 2018 with an unemployment rate of 6.6 percent.
At the end of last year, 16.3 million men and women in the EU28 — including 12.9 million in the euro area — were unemployed.
