The number of persons employed in the euro area remained stable while employment in the European Union (EU-27) increased by 0.1 percent in the second quarter of 2012 compared with the previous quarter, according to national accounts estimates published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union. In the first quarter of 2012, the seasonally adjusted employment rate decreased by 0.3 in the euro area and by 0.1 percent quarter on quarter in the EU-27.
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment fell by 0.6 in the euro area and by 0.2 percent in the EU-27 in the second quarter of 2012.
In the second quarter of the current year, the highest increase in employment was recorded in the real estate sector with a rise of 0.7 percent in the euro area and 1.4 percent in the EU-27, while the largest decrease was recorded in financial and insurance activities with a 0.8 percent decrease in the euro area and a fall of 0.7 percent decrease in the EU-27, all on quarter-on-quarter basis.