In the first quarter of 2009 employment was down by 0.8% in both the Eurozone (EZ16) and the EU27 as compared to the fourth quarter in 2008. In absolute figures this decline corresponded to 1.22 million people in the Eurozone and to 1.92 million in the EU27. In the fourth quarter of 2008 the respective changes on the previous quarter had been -0.4 % in the Eurozone and -0.3 % in the EU27 (adjusted for season). In comparison with the first quarter of 2008 employment in both the Eurozone and the EU27 fell by 1.2 %. For the time being, the above figures by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) are provisional.
According to Eurostat estimates there were in total 223.8 million gainfully employed people in the EU27 in the first quarter, 146.2 million of which in the Eurozone.