The euro area economy expanded in the fourth quarter after an upward revision, but the growth was still meager as the biggest two economies contracted and overall employment logged only a marginal increase, official data showed on Friday.
Gross domestic product grew by revised 0.1 percent sequentially, flash estimate from Eurostat revealed.
This follows 0.4 percent growth in the third quarter. The preliminary flash estimate initially showed flat growth for the fourth quarter.
On a yearly basis, GDP growth held steady at 0.9 percent, as initially estimated, in the fourth quarter.
Today, data showed that the number of employed persons edged up 0.1 percent sequentially, slower than the 0.2 percent rise in third quarter. Year-on-year, employment growth slowed to 0.6 percent from 1.0 percent a quarter ago.
In the whole year 2024, the economy grew 0.7 percent and employment increased 0.9 percent from the last year.
Although the economy performed a little better than previously estimated in the fourth quarter, growth was still extremely weak and the early signs are that it got off to a slow start to 2025, Capital Economics' economist Jack Allen-Reynolds said.
Moreover, the economist noted that there is little evidence of a turnaround in the region's woeful productivity performance.
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December 19, 2025 15:10 ET U.S. inflation data and interest rate decisions by major central banks were the highlights of this busy week for economics news flow. Employment data and survey results on the housing markets also gained attention in the U.S. In Europe, the European Central Bank and Bank of England announced their policy decisions and macroeconomic projections.