Eurozone economy avoids recession

According to data released by Eurostat, the European Union's (EU) statistics agency, the Eurozone economy remained stagnant in the fourth quarter of 2023, thereby avoiding a recession, which is defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction.

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According to Eurostat data, the Eurozone contracted by 0.1 percent in the previous quarter. As reported by Euronews Turkish, the economy grew by a negligible 0.1 percent for the entirety of 2023.

According to Barclays' analysis, the weak performance is primarily due to a decline in domestic demand, particularly stemming from investments.

The investment bank emphasized that France, which was expected to enter a recession, remaining stagnant was a positive surprise, and that Italy and Spain, the bloc's third and fourth-largest economies, showed resilience with growth of 0.2 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, Germany's performance continued to decline, with its gross domestic product (GDP) shrinking by 0.3 percent on a quarterly basis and 0.2 percent on an annual basis.

According to Eurostat's preliminary estimates, the number of employed persons increased by 0.3 percent in both the Eurozone and the EU in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the previous three months. This means that 169.3 million people are employed in the Eurozone.

Employment also increased by 1.3 percent in the Eurozone and 1.2 percent in the EU compared to the last three months of the previous year.

News Source: 12punto