Brussels – The start of 2026 saw modest growth for the eurozone economy, with both gross domestic product (GDP) and employment rising slightly. According to estimates published today (13 May) by Eurostat, seasonally adjusted GDP – adjusted for periodic and seasonal fluctuations linked to weather, holidays, or customs – rose by 0.1 per cent in the eurozone in the first quarter of 2026, and by 0.2 per cent in the EU, compared with the October–December 2025 period. This figure marks a slight slowdown compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, when growth stood at 0.2 per cent in both areas. A significant change between these two periods concerns the composition of the eurozone, which, since 1 January 2026, has also included Bulgaria, bringing the number of members to 21.
Compared with the first quarter of the previous year, GDP rose by 0.8 per cent in the euro area and by 1.0 per cent in the EU. Internationally, over the same period, the United States recorded stronger growth, with GDP up 0.5 per cent from the previous quarter and by 2.7 per cent year-on-year.
The labour market also showed modest growth: the number of people in employment rose by 0.1 per cent in both the euro area and the EU in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the last quarter of 2025. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment rose by 0.5 per cent in the euro area and by 0.6 per cent in the EU.
The European economic landscape in the first quarter of 2026 shows wide variation in performance across Member States: Finland leads with a 0.9 per cent increase, followed by Hungary (+0.8 per cent) and Bulgaria (+0.7 per cent). As for the year-on-year comparison, Cyprus leads growth with +3.0 per cent, closely followed by Bulgaria (+2.9 per cent) and Spain (+2.7 per cent). In this context, Italian GDP grew by 0.2 per cent compared to the last three months of 2025 and by 0.7 per cent year-on-year, a result which, while outperforming Germany (+0.3 per cent year-on-year), remains slightly below the eurozone average (+0.8 per cent) and that of the EU as a whole (+1.0 per cent). At the opposite end of the spectrum is Ireland, which recorded a significant contraction both quarter-on-quarter (-2.0 per cent) and year-on-year (-6.3 per cent), although experts urge caution when analysing these figures due to methodological peculiarities in the calculation of Irish GDP that may render the data sources incomplete.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
