The eurozone economy grew in the first quarter but only modestly, as the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine weighed on economic performance, according to a second estimate.
Across the 19 countries that use the euro as their currency, gross domestic product grew 0.3% on quarter in the first three months of the year, the European Union’s statistics agency Eurostat said Tuesday, up from a first estimate of 0.2% for the period and compared with a 0.3% rise in the previous quarter. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal forecast the economy to grow by 0.2%.
Year-on-year, the economy grew 5.1%, Eurostat said. This compares with 5.0% growth expected by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal and in the first estimate published by Eurostat.
Eurostat added that the number of employed citizens increased by 0.5% in the first quarter compared with the previous quarter, when this figure rose 0.4%.
Write to Maria Martinez at maria.martinez@wsj.com
