After a start to the year with slow and moderate growth, the eurozone economy shows signs of recovery in the third quarter of the year. The gross domestic product of the euro countries has shown a rebound of 0.4% between July and September, exceeding the 0.2% increase in the second quarter of the year. An impulse that is supported by an increase in household consumption and an increase in public spending by governments.
In the EU as a whole, the dynamic is replicated, an increase of 0.4% in the third quarter after an increase of 0.2% in the second part of the year. This is shown by the updated data made public this Friday by the European statistics office, Eurostat, which compares the figures with those of the US economy to show that the growth of the euro continues to lag behind. Washington recorded a GDP expansion of 0.7% between July and September, repeating the growth it recorded in the second quarter of the year.
Among the main euro economies, Spain remains the one with the highest growth, with an increase of 0.8% between July and September. A figure similar to that recorded in the second section of the year and in line with the 0.9% GDP expansion that was indicated at the start of the year.
The German economy is showing signs of slight recovery, although it is not yet consolidated. Berlin has recorded GDP growth of 0.1% in the third part of the year, compared to the 0.2% that Eurostat initially predicted. In any case, it reverses that 0.3% contraction that it noted in the second quarter of the year. The German GDP started 2024 with a GDP expansion of 0.2% after having seen its economy decline by 0.4% at the end of last year.
In the case of French GDP, the rebound between July and September was 0.4%. The figure is above the 0.2% registered between April and June and also between January and March, so the French economy shows signs of dynamism driven, in this case, by the announcement of the Olympic Games this summer. The case of Italy has not been so positive. It recorded flat growth in the third quarter, after having advanced 0.2% in the second part of the year and 0.3% at the beginning of the year.
Ireland is at the head of the EU countries that are growing the most, with GDP growth of 3.5% in the third quarter, which contrasts with the decline of 1% between April and June. The Irish economy started 2024 with an increase of 0.6%. In this calculation it is worth considering that the variations in the Irish economy correspond to the income from intellectual property rights generated by companies.
Next on the list is the Danish and Lithuanian economy. Both registered an increase of 1.2% in the third section of the year. On the other hand, the economy that has shown the worst performance is Hungary, with GDP plummeting by 0.7% between July and September after a 0.2% cut in the second quarter, which places the country in technical recession. The second worst performance corresponds to Latvia, whose economy fell by 0.2% in the same period, and has four consecutive quarters of recession.
Its Eurostat analysis points out that the eurozone economy has improved in the third quarter due to an increase in household consumption and the increase in public spending by governments.
On the one hand, household consumption increased by 0.7% in the euro zone and 0.6% in the EU as a whole after zero growth in the previous quarter. Furthermore, public spending by governments registered a rebound of 0.5% in the Twenty and Twenty-Seven as a whole, after rebounds of more than 1% in the previous quarter in both cases.
However, exports have fallen by 1.5% in the euro countries as a whole and by 1.2% in the EU, compared to the 1.5% increase that both economies recorded between April and June. On the opposite side, imports increased by 0.2% in the Twenty and 0.3% in the Twenty-seven, after rising 1.1% in both areas in the period of the previous year. Exports minus imports resulted in a negative trade balance, both for the Eurozone, 0.9 percentage points less, and for the EU, 0.7 percentage points less.
Employment
On the other hand, the updated employment data from the community statistics office shows that the number of people employed increased by 0.2% in the euro zone and remained stable in the EU in the third quarter of 2024, compared to the previous quarter. In the second quarter of 2024, employment had grown by 0.2% in the euro area and 0.1% in the EU.
In the third quarter of 2024, Croatia showed the most positive evolution, with an increase in employment levels of 1.5%, followed by Ireland with a rebound of 1.2% and Malta with an increase of 1%, in terms quarterly. The worst performance in terms of employment was that of Romania, with a decrease of 3.1%, followed by the fall of 1.2% in Estonia and 0.6% in Latvia.
The eurozone economy catches its breath in the third quarter and grows 0.4%
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