GDP and employment both in 4Q25 up by 0.2% in the euro area

GDP growth in the euro area and the EU

In the fourth quarter of 2025, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 0.2% in both the euro area and the EU , compared with the previous quarter, according to an estimate published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union . In the third quarter of 2025, GDP had increased by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.4% in the EU .

F or the year 2025 as a whole, GDP increased by 1.4% in the euro area and by 1.5% in the EU , after +0.9% in the euro area and +1.1% in the EU.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 1.2% in the euro area and by 1.4% in the EU in the fourth quarter of 2025, after +1.4% in the euro area and +1.7% in the EU in the previous quarter.

During the fourth quarter of 2025, GDP in the United States increased by 0.4% compared to the previous quarter (after +1.1% in the third quarter of 2025). Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, GDP increased by 2.2% (after +2.3% in the previous quarter).

GDP growth by Member State

Malta (+2.1%) recorded the highest increase of GDP compared to the previous quarter, followed by Lithuania (+1.7%), Croatia and Cyprus (both +1.4%). Decreases were observed in Ireland (-3.8%), Romania (-1.9%), Estonia and Luxembourg (both -0.1%).

GDP components and contributions to growth

GDP components evolved in the fourth quarter of 2025 as follows:

• household final consumption expenditure increased by 0.4% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU (after +0.2% and +0.3% respectively),

• government final consumption expenditure increased by 0.5% in the euro area and by 0.7% in the EU (after +0.7% in both areas),

• gross fixed capital formation increased by 0.6% both in the euro area and in the EU (after +1.3% in both areas),

• exports decreased by 0.4% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU (after +0.8% and +1.0% respectively), and

• imports decreased by 0.2% in the euro area and remained stable in the EU (after +1.8% and +1.7% respectively).

The contribution to GDP growth from:

• household final consumption expenditure was positive for both the euro area (+0.2 percentage points – pp and the EU (+0.3 pp),

• government final expenditure was positive for both the euro area (+0.1 pp) and the EU (+0.2 pp),

• gross fixed capital formation was positive for both the euro area and the EU (+0.1 pp for both),

• changes in inventories was negative for both the euro area (-0.1 pp) and the EU (-0.2 pp), and

• exports less imports was negative for both the euro area and the EU (-0.1 pp for both).

Employment growth in the euro area and EU

The number of employed pe rsons increased by 0.2% in both the euro area and the EU in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared with the previous quarter. In the third quarter of 2025, employment had increased by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.1% in the EU .

For the year 2025 as a whole, the number of persons employed increased by 0.7% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU, after +1.0% and +0.8% respectively in 2024.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, empl oyment increased by 0.7% in the euro area and by 0.6% in the EU in the fourth quarter of 2025, after +0.6% in the euro area and +0.5% in the EU in the third quarter of 2025.

Hours worked increased by 0.6% in the euro area and by 0.5% the EU in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared with the previous quarter. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, hours worked increased by 0.9% in the euro area and by 0.7% in the EU.

These data provide a picture of labour input consistent with the output and income measure of national accounts.

Employment growth in Member States

In the fourth quarter of 2025, Ireland, Malta (both +1.3%), Spain and Cyprus (both +0.8%) recorded the highest growth of employment in persons compared with the previous quarter. Declines of employment were recorded in Lithuania (-2.3%), Estonia (-1.8%) and Germany (-0.1%).

Employment levels in the euro area and EU

Based on seasonally adjusted figures, Eurostat estimates that in the fourth quarter of 2025, 221.1 million people were employed in the EU, of which 172.6 million were in the euro area.

Evolution of labour productivity in the euro area and EU

The combination of GDP and employment data allows an estimation of labour productivity.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, productivity based on persons increased by 0.6% in the euro area and by 0.8% in the EU compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

Based on hours worked, productivity compared with the same quarter of the previous year increased by 0.5% in the euro area and by 0.7% in the EU.

Tables

Growth rates of GDP in volume (based on seasonally adjusted* data)
	Percentage change compared with the previous quarter				Percentage change compared with the same quarter of the previous year
	2025Q1	2025Q2	2025Q3	2025Q4	2025Q1	2025Q2	2025Q3	2025Q4
Euro area 20	0.6	0.1	0.3	0.2	1.6	1.6	1.4	1.2
Euro area 21	0.6	0.1	0.3	0.2	1.6	1.6	1.4	1.2
EU	0.5	0.3	0.4	0.2	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.4
Belgium	0.4	0.2	0.3	0.1	0.9	1.0	1.0	1.0
Bulgaria	0.6	0.9	0.7	0.8	3.5	3.3	3.1	3.0
Czechia	0.7	0.5	0.8	0.6	2.4	2.6	2.8	2.6
Denmark	-0.9	1.3	2.3	0.2	2.6	2.0	3.9	3.0
Germany	0.4	-0.2	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.4
Estonia	0.1	0.7	0.1	-0.1	-0.4	0.7	1.0	0.8
Ireland	7.7	-0.6	0.0	-3.8	18.4	18.1	11.1	3.0
Greece	0.4	0.5	0.7	0.8	2.4	1.7	2.1	2.4
Spain	0.5	0.7	0.6	0.8	3.0	2.8	2.7	2.6
France	0.1	0.3	0.5	0.2	0.7	0.8	1.0	1.2
Croatia	0.5	0.9	0.4	1.4	3.5	3.3	2.6	3.3
Italy	0.3	0.0	0.2	0.3	0.7	0.5	0.7	0.8
Cyprus	1.3	0.8	0.9	1.4	3.3	3.6	3.6	4.5
Latvia	0.7	0.4	0.8	0.6	1.9	1.7	2.3	2.5
Lithuania	0.4	0.7	0.3	1.7	3.0	3.2	2.1	3.1
Luxembourg	0.6	0.6	1.2	-0.1	-2.4	-0.6	3.2	2.4
Hungary	-0.2	0.5	0.0	0.2	-0.3	0.3	0.7	0.6
Malta	1.4	1.7	1.1	2.1	3.2	2.5	3.8	6.4
Netherlands**	0.3	0.3	0.5	0.5	2.2	1.7	1.8	1.8
Austria	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.4	0.7	1.1	0.7
Poland	0.7	0.9	0.9	1.0	3.7	3.0	4.0	3.6
Portugal	-0.3	0.7	0.6	0.9	1.6	1.7	2.2	1.9
Romania	-0.5	1.0	-0.1	-1.9	0.6	2.1	1.4	-1.5
Slovenia	-0.6	0.9	0.9	0.4	-0.5	1.0	1.8	1.6
Slovakia	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.8	0.7	0.9	0.9
Finland**	0.0	-0.1	-0.1	0.4	0.7	0.1	-0.1	0.1
Sweden**	-0.3	1.0	0.8	0.5	0.4	2.3	2.6	2.1
Iceland	3.1	-1.0	1.3	-0.8	2.2	-0.8	1.2	2.6
Norway	0.2	1.0	1.3	-0.3	0.3	0.1	2.2	2.2
Switzerland	0.7	0.1	-0.4	0.1	2.4	1.5	0.6	0.5
United States	-0.2	0.9	1.1	0.4	2.0	2.1	2.3	2.2
* Growth rates to the previous quarter and to the same quarter of the previous year presented in this table are both based on seasonally and calendar adjusted figures, except where indicated. Unadjusted data are not available for all Member States which are included in GDP flash estimates. ** Percentage change compared with the same quarter of the previous year calculated from calendar adjusted data. Source datasets: namq_10_gdp and naidq_10_gdp (for United States data)

Growth rates of employment in persons*
	Percentage change compared with the previous quarter				Percentage change compared with the same quarter of the previous year
	2025Q1	2025Q2	2025Q3	2025Q4	2025Q1	2025Q2	2025Q3	2025Q4
Euro area 20	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.7
Euro area 21	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.8	0.8	0.6	0.7
EU	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.6
Belgium	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.1	0.3	0.5	0.4	0.4
Bulgaria	0.6	0.8	0.5	0.6	1.4	2.6	2.3	2.5
Czechia	0.4	0.5	0.2	0.0	1.1	1.0	1.1	1.1
Denmark	0.4	0.2	0.3	0.3	1.2	1.0	1.2	1.2
Germany	0.0	0.0	-0.1	-0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	-0.1
Estonia	-0.4	0.6	0.6	-1.8	-1.1	-0.9	1.0	-1.1
Ireland	0.7	-0.1	0.1	1.3	3.1	2.1	0.9	1.9
Greece	0.5	-0.1	0.1	0.4	0.6	0.8	1.1	0.9
Spain	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.8	2.7	3.0	2.7	2.6
France	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.3	0.1	0.0	0.0
Croatia	0.9	-0.7	1.5	0.3	2.5	0.0	1.6	1.8
Italy	0.7	-0.1	0.2	0.3	1.6	1.1	0.6	1.2
Cyprus	0.0	0.7	0.5	0.8	1.5	1.8	1.4	2.0
Latvia	0.1	0.0	0.6	0.6	-1.6	-1.3	-0.5	1.3
Lithuania	0.2	-1.3	1.0	-2.3	0.8	-1.3	-0.3	-1.9
Luxembourg	0.3	0.3	0.5	0.4	0.8	1.0	1.4	1.6
Hungary	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.6
Malta	1.1	1.1	0.6	1.3	4.1	4.1	3.4	4.1
Netherlands	-0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.6	0.6	0.3	0.3
Austria	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.0	-0.1	0.1
Poland	-0.5	0.5	0.4	0.4	-1.1	0.0	0.7	0.7
Portugal	0.5	0.7	0.9	0.5	1.5	2.3	2.7	2.8
Romania	-1.8	-0.5	-1.6	0.5	-4.4	-4.4	-2.5	-2.5
Slovenia	-0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	-0.6	-0.5	-0.4	-0.2
Slovakia	-0.1	0.1	-0.1	0.1	-0.2	0.0	-0.2	-0.2
Finland	0.0	-0.1	0.0	0.3	-0.9	-0.7	-0.7	0.3
Sweden	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.2	-0.5	-0.2	-0.1	0.3
Iceland	0.3	0.3	0.1	:	1.2	1.1	1.0	:
Norway	0.3	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.6
Switzerland	0.2	0.0	-0.1	0.0	0.7	0.6	0.4	0.1
: Data not available * Percentage change in the number of persons employed in resident production units compared with the previous quarter based on seasonally adjusted data. Percentage change compared with the same quarter of the previous year based on non-seasonally adjusted data. See predefined tables: tec00108 (quarterly change), teina305 (annual change), tec00109 (levels) Source dataset: namq_10_a10_e (including breakdowns by industry)

Growth rates of employment in hours worked*
	Percentage change compared with the previous quarter				Percentage change compared with the same quarter of the previous year
	2025Q1	2025Q2	2025Q3	2025Q4	2025Q1	2025Q2	2025Q3	2025Q4
Euro area 20	-0.1	0.0	0.3	0.6	0.3	-0.3	0.7	0.9
Euro area 21	-0.1	0.0	0.3	0.6	0.3	-0.3	0.7	0.9
EU	-0.2	0.0	0.4	0.5	-0.1	-0.6	0.6	0.7
Belgium	0.5	0.0	0.2	:	0.4	0.4	0.8	:
Bulgaria	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.1	1.0	2.2	1.5
Czechia	-0.1	0.7	1.2	1.2	1.9	0.8	3.5	2.3
Denmark	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.1	0.9	0.7	1.4	1.0
Germany	0.0	-0.7	-0.1	1.1	0.3	-1.1	-0.5	0.5
Estonia	-1.4	2.2	1.2	-1.6	-1.7	-2.2	1.4	0.3
Ireland	0.0	1.0	0.1	1.5	1.1	1.8	0.9	2.9
Greece	-1.7	1.8	-1.5	2.6	-3.1	0.3	-0.7	1.1
Spain	-0.7	0.5	1.1	1.2	2.8	0.1	2.8	2.8
France	-0.1	-0.1	0.1	-0.1	-0.4	-0.7	-0.7	-0.7
Croatia	1.0	0.1	0.2	0.9	2.0	-1.2	0.8	2.5
Italy	0.9	-0.1	0.8	0.0	0.2	0.7	2.0	1.6
Cyprus	0.0	0.7	1.1	1.4	1.8	2.2	1.9	3.3
Latvia	-5.4	2.6	-0.1	3.2	-4.9	-1.9	-1.0	0.0
Lithuania	-0.8	-0.1	0.1	0.1	1.5	-0.5	0.4	-1.0
Luxembourg	0.1	0.3	0.5	0.4	-0.5	-0.5	1.1	2.4
Hungary	-0.3	-0.3	0.9	0.1	1.3	-1.8	0.9	1.5
Malta	0.8	1.4	0.0	2.6	7.3	5.5	1.7	4.9
Netherlands	0.0	-0.3	0.0	-0.3	-1.1	-1.6	0.1	-0.7
Austria	-0.7	-0.5	0.3	0.7	0.6	-0.1	1.9	-0.3
Poland	-0.2	0.2	0.4	0.0	-2.0	-0.7	0.3	0.4
Portugal	-0.2	0.1	1.7	0.4	1.4	0.8	3.4	1.9
Romania	-1.7	-1.0	-0.4	0.6	-4.3	-4.2	-2.0	-1.8
Slovenia	-5.9	2.4	1.8	0.6	-4.4	-1.5	1.3	-2.2
Slovakia	-0.8	-0.3	0.5	0.2	-1.3	-1.3	-0.5	-0.2
Finland	-0.9	0.7	0.2	0.7	-3.0	-3.1	-0.8	2.3
Sweden	-0.2	-0.4	0.2	-0.2	-1.8	-1.9	0.6	-0.6
Iceland	-0.3	-2.2	1.0	:	2.6	-4.2	-1.2	:
Norway	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.0	2.5	-2.3	1.2	0.6
: Data not available * Percentage change in the number of hours worked in resident production units compared with the previous quarter based on seasonally adjusted data. Percentage change compared with the same quarter of the previous year based on non-seasonally adjusted data. Source dataset: namq_10_a10_e (including breakdowns by industry)

Overview on the evolution of main expenditure components

GDP and expenditure components seasonally adjusted, chain-linked volumes
		Percentage change compared with the previous quarter		Percentage change compared with the same quarter of the previous year
		Euro area	EU	Euro area	EU
GDP	2025 Q1	0.6	0.5	1.6	1.7
	2025 Q2	0.1	0.3	1.6	1.7
	2025 Q3	0.3	0.4	1.4	1.7
	2025 Q4	0.2	0.2	1.2	1.4
Household & NPISH final consumption expenditure	2025 Q1	0.3	0.3	1.6	1.7
	2025 Q2	0.3	0.4	1.7	1.9
	2025 Q3	0.2	0.3	1.4	1.6
	2025 Q4	0.4	0.5	1.3	1.6
Government final consumption expenditure	2025 Q1	-0.2	-0.3	1.9	1.8
	2025 Q2	0.4	0.6	1.4	1.5
	2025 Q3	0.7	0.7	1.5	1.6
	2025 Q4	0.5	0.7	1.4	1.7
Gross Fixed Capital Formation	2025 Q1	2.7	2.3	2.4	2.2
	2025 Q2	-1.5	-1.2	3.6	3.2
	2025 Q3	1.3	1.3	3.3	3.2
	2025 Q4	0.6	0.6	3.1	3.0
Exports	2025 Q1	2.4	2.1	2.7	2.6
	2025 Q2	-0.5	-0.1	0.7	1.0
	2025 Q3	0.8	1.0	2.9	3.2
	2025 Q4	-0.4	-0.3	2.4	2.7
Imports	2025 Q1	2.3	2.0	4.0	3.8
	2025 Q2	0.0	0.3	2.8	2.9
	2025 Q3	1.8	1.7	4.2	4.3
	2025 Q4	-0.2	0.0	3.9	4.0

Contribution of expenditure components to change of GDP seasonally adjusted, chain-linked volumes
		Contribution in percentage points to GDP change compared with the previous quarter		Contribution in percentage points to GDP change compared with the same quarter of the previous year
		Euro area	EU	Euro area	EU
Household & NPISH final consumption expenditure	2025 Q1	0.2	0.2	0.9	0.9
	2025 Q2	0.2	0.2	0.9	1.0
	2025 Q3	0.1	0.1	0.7	0.8
	2025 Q4	0.2	0.3	0.7	0.8
Government final consumption expenditure	2025 Q1	0.0	-0.1	0.4	0.4
	2025 Q2	0.1	0.1	0.3	0.3
	2025 Q3	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.3
	2025 Q4	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.4
Gross Fixed Capital Formation	2025 Q1	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.5
	2025 Q2	-0.3	-0.3	0.7	0.7
	2025 Q3	0.3	0.3	0.7	0.7
	2025 Q4	0.1	0.1	0.7	0.6
Changes in Inventories*	2025 Q1	-0.3	-0.2	0.3	0.4
	2025 Q2	0.4	0.3	0.5	0.5
	2025 Q3	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2
	2025 Q4	-0.1	-0.2	0.2	0.0
Exports	2025 Q1	1.2	1.1	1.3	1.3
	2025 Q2	-0.2	-0.1	0.3	0.5
	2025 Q3	0.4	0.5	1.4	1.6
	2025 Q4	-0.2	-0.2	1.2	1.4
Imports	2025 Q1	-1.0	-0.9	-1.8	-1.8
	2025 Q2	0.0	-0.1	-1.2	-1.3
	2025 Q3	-0.8	-0.8	-1.9	-2.0
	2025 Q4	0.1	0.0	-1.7	-1.8

GDP and expenditure components in the fourth quarter of 2025 in millions of euro, seasonally adjusted, at current prices
	Euro area	EU
GDP	4 014 034.4	4 781 441.2
Household & NPISH final consumption expenditure	2 109 545.5	2 513 650.3
Government final consumption expenditure	871 270.2	1 040 703.1
Gross Fixed Capital Formation	853 812.6	1 022 161.3
Changes in Inventories*	27 619.4	29 090.5
Domestic Demand	3 862 247.7	4 605 605.2
Exports	1 924 987.9	2 340 923.5
Imports	1 773 201.1	2 165 087.5
* Changes in inventories include acquisitions less disposals of valuables. Source dataset: namq_10_gdp

Notes for users

Revisions

The reliability of GDP and employment flash estimates was tested by dedicated working groups and revisions of subsequent estimates are continuously monitored. Further information can be found on Eurostat website .

With these estimates, euro area and EU employment and GDP figures for earlier quarters are revised.

Flash estimates of employment and GDP growth were published in News Release issued on 13 February 2026. They were based on a more limited data set than the one used for the present News Release and additionally, on preliminary estimates that have now been revised by some Member States. Revisions for the last quarter are highlighted in bold in the table below:

Growth rates Estimates	To the previous quarter (Q/Q-1)	To the previous year (Q/Q-4)
	Previous	Current	Previous	Current
	Euro area	EU	Euro area	EU	Euro area	EU	Euro area	EU
GDP	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2	1.3	1.5	1.2	1.4
Employment	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.6

All estimates presented in this release may be revised with the t+110 database update scheduled for 20 April 2026.

Release schedule

This news release presents estimates for euro area and EU GDP and employment aggregates based on national accounts transmission from all Member States due after t+2 months.

A further estimation is done at around t+110 days after some countries transmit updated estimates.

To increase the timeliness of key indicators, Eurostat also publishes flash estimates for GDP (after around 30 and 45 days) and employment (after around 45 days). The flash estimates are based on estimates provided by most EU Member States on a voluntary basis.

Methods and definitions

European quarterly national accounts are compiled in accordance with the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010). They include key policy indicators on GDP and employment.

Gross domestic product (GDP) at market prices measures the production activity of resident producer units. Growth rates are based on chain-linked volumes.

Employment covers employees and self-employed working in resident production units (domestic concept). Employment flash estimates are limited to total employment in persons, but regular estimates also cover hours worked and industry breakdowns.

Labour productivity is compiled as the ratio of economic output (GDP, chain-linked volumes with reference year 2010) to labour input (total employment measured in persons or hours worked, for all industries, according to the domestic concept).

The method used for compilation of European GDP and employment estimates is the same as for previous releases.

Geographical information

Up to 31 December 2025, the euro area included Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland (EA20). From 1 January 2026, the euro area also includes Bulgaria (EA21).
The aggregate data series commented on in this Euro indicator release refer to the official composition of the euro area in the most recent month for which data are available. Thus, Euro indicator releases with data for months up to December 2025 comment on EA20 series, while releases with data for January 2026 onwards will comment on EA21 series.

European Union: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden (EU27).

For more information

• Website section on national accounts, notably information on European GDP and employment estimates

• Database section on national accounts and Eurostat metadata on quarterly national accounts

• Statistics Explained articles on measuring quarterly GDP and presentation of updated quarterly estimates

• Country specific metadata

• Country specific metadata on the recording of Ukrainian refugees in main aggregates of national accounts

• European System of Accounts 2010

• Euro indicators dashboard

• Release calendar for Euro indicators

• European Statistics Code of Practice

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