Eurozone Growth Confirmed at 2% in Q2

The European Union statistics office Eurostat said on Tuesday that the eurozone economy grew by 2 percent in the second quarter of the year, confirming its previous reading, as the easing of restrictions related to the Coronavirus stimulated economic activity after a brief recession.

In a separate statement, Eurostat said employment activity in the 19-nation bloc grew 0.5% in the April-June period from the previous quarter, in line with expectations of economists polled by Reuters.

The good two percent rise in the gross domestic product compared to the previous quarter was accompanied by a 13.6 percent rise from the same period last year, when the eurozone economy suffered the worst of the pandemic.

The annual GDP reading was slightly revised down from Eurostat’s previous estimate of 13.7 percent growth released at the end of July.

The quarterly growth followed a two-quarter decline in the gross domestic product, with the eurozone economy contracting 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020 and 0.3 percent in the January-March period.