Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment increased by 1.2% in the euro area and by 1.1% in the EU28 in the third quarter of 2016 (after +1.3% and +1.4% respectively in the second quarter of 2016). Eurostat estimates that, in the third quarter of 2016, 232.5 million men and women were employed in the EU28 (highest level ever recorded); of which 153.4 million were in the euro area (highest level since the fourth quarter of 2008). These figures are seasonally adjusted. These quarterly data on employment provide a picture of labour input consistent with the output and income measure of national accounts.

Employment growth in Member States Among Member States for which data are available, Portugal (+1.3%), Spain (+0.8%), Luxembourg (+0.7%) as well as Ireland, Cyprus and Slovakia (all +0.6%) recorded the highest increases in the third quarter of 2016 compared with the previous quarter. In contrast, the highest decreases in employment were observed in Latvia (-1.5%), Estonia (-1.0%) and Bulgaria (-0.7%)