Money Buzz! Europa

Tag: eurostat

  • In 2019, 2.3% of employees in EU had a work contract under 3 months’ duration

    In 2019, 2.3% of employees in EU had a work contract under 3 months’ duration

    In 2019, 2.3% of employees in the European Union (EU) aged 20-64 had a precarious job, meaning that their work contract did not exceed three months’ duration, show Eurostat.

    The share of precarious employment, as a percentage of total employment, has remained relatively stable over the past decade, ranging from a low of 2.3% in 2009 to a high of 2.5% during the period 2015-2017.

    Employees in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector had the highest share of precarious work contracts, at 7.5% in 2019. This was followed by the wholesale and retail trade, transport, accommodation and food service activities sector (2.8%) and the and the sector of the other service activities and the activities of households as employers (2.4%).

    Seasonality in precarious employment

    Between 2014 and 2019, most economic activities displayed seasonal fluctuations, however at different magnitudes. Overall, the third quarter had the highest number of employees with precarious jobs.

    Among all economic activities, the wholesale, retail trade, transport, accommodation and food service activities sector represented the sharpest fluctuations in the number of employees who had precarious jobs, with an average increase of 30% from the second to the third quarter.

    Share of precarious employment highest in Croatia, lowest in Czechia and Romania

    Among the EU Member States, Croatia has had one of the highest shares of precarious employment since 2012. However, since its peak in 2016 (8.0%) this share has been gradually decreasing, reaching 5.8% in 2019.

    Other EU countries reporting the highest shares of precarious employment in 2019 were France (5.0%), Spain (3.8), Belgium (3.6%), and Italy (3.4%).

    At the other end of the scale, Czechia and Romania recorded the lowest share of precarious employment (both 0.2%).

  • Almost a quarter of the EU’s GDP in 2019 was generated by Germany

    Almost a quarter of the EU’s GDP in 2019 was generated by Germany

    In 2019, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the European Union (EU) stood at around €13 900 billion at current prices. In real terms, the EU’s GDP in 2019 was 17% higher than its level one decade earlier, shows Eurostat.

    Almost a quarter of the EU’s GDP (24.7%) was generated by Germany, followed by France (17.4%) and Italy (12.8%), ahead of Spain (8.9%) and the Netherlands (5.8%).

    At the opposite end of the scale, ten EU Member States contributed less than 1% of the EU’s total GDP: Malta (which had the lowest share of EU GDP at 0.1%), Estonia, Cyprus and Latvia (all 0.2%), Lithuania and Slovenia (both 0.3%), Bulgaria and Croatia (both 0.4%), Luxembourg (0.5%) and Slovakia (0.7%).

    The 19 EU Member States that comprise the euro area had a combined GDP of €11 900 billion and accounted for 85.5% of the EU’s GDP in 2019.

  • One in three people in EU unable to face unexpected financial expenses

    One in three people in EU unable to face unexpected financial expenses

    • In the European Union (EU), almost one in three people were unable to face unexpected financial expenses (32%) in 2019.
    • These people were not able to face unexpected financial expenses such as costs for surgery, a funeral, a replacement of washing machine or a car in 2019.

    Since its peak in 2012 (40%), the ability to handle unexpected expenses has improved markedly. Due to lockdown implemented across the world in 2020 to slow down the rapid spread of the coronavirus, the ability to face unexpected financial expenses is crucial, especially in case of loss of income.  

    The highest shares of people unable to face unexpected financial expenses was reported among single person households: 40% of single persons were unable to face unexpected financial expenses, and in particular 56% of single persons with children. Higher shares were recorded for single females (43%) than for single males (36%).

    In contrast, the lowest shares were recorded in households with two adults: 25% were unable to face unexpected financial expenses; 28% of two adult households with one dependent child and 26% of those with two dependent children.

    Among all household types, the proportion of people unable to face unexpected financial expenses was lowest for two adults, of whom at least one is 65 or over (24%).

    Inability to face unexpected financial expenses highest in Croatia, lowest in Malta

    Among the EU Member States, the share of people unable to face unexpected financial expenses was highest in Croatia (52%), followed by Latvia (50%), Greece and Cyprus (both 48%), Lithuania (47%) and Romania (44%).

    Fewer than one in four people were unable to face unexpected financial expenses in Denmark (23%), Czechia and the Netherlands (both 22%), Luxembourg, Austria and Sweden (all 20%, 2018 data) as well as Malta (15%).