The euro-area economy recovered from a technical recession in Q2 this year, as economies emerged from coronavirus lockdown measures, a flash estimate from Eurostat showed yesterday .

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2% sequentially, in contrast to a 0.3% drop in the first quarter.

On a yearly basis, GDP rebounded 13.6% after shrinking 1.3% in the first quarter.

The European Commission has projected the currency bloc to grow by 4.8% in 2021 and 4.5% next year.

Breakdown

The detailed breakdown for eurozone GDP has not yet been released. Strong Q2 euro-zone growth is likely to persist, despite the spread of the Delta variant.

But the southern economies continue to lag, with travel restrictions still holding back their tourism sectors.

Data showed that the number of those employed in the eurozone increased 0.5% sequentially, reversing a 0.2% fall in the first quarter. 

Employment rebound

Year-on-year, employment rebounded 1.8%, offsetting last quarter's 1.8% decline.

The EU27 GDP was up 1.9% and reversed the 0.1% drop in the first quarter.

The statistical office is expected to issue revised data for the second quarter on September 7.