Q2 employment up 1.2 pct in Greece, says Eurostat

Greece was among the European countries with the highest increase in its employment rate in the second quarter of 2015 compared to Q1, according to seasonally adjusted figures released by the bloc’s statistical agency, Eurostat, on Tuesday.

Portugal led the table with a 1.3 percent rise in employment, followed by Greece at 1.2 percent, Ireland and Spain at 0.9 percent each, and Estonia at 0.8 percent.

Compared to the same quarter in 2014, employment in Greece rose by 2.3 percent, Eurostat said.

Negative figures in the 28-member bloc were recorded in Finland (-0.3 pct), the UK (-0.2 pct) and Bulgaria and Estonia (both -0.1 pct).

Overall, the number of employed people in the countries sharing the euro inched up by 0.3 percent in the second quarter of the year and by 0.2 percent in the EU’s 28, up by 0.8 percent and 0.9 percent respectively compared with the same period last year.