According to seasonally adjusted data publishes on 7 June  by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union (EU), Croatia ranked among the top countries in the EU for gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the 1Q2024, with a 1% increase compared to the previous three months and a 3.9% increase compared to the 1Q2023, Croatian media report. In terms of employment, Croatia saw a 0.3% rise in the 1Q2024, closely following the EU average.Among the countries for which Eurostat had data, economic activity increased the most in the first quarter in Malta and Cyprus, by 1.3% and 1.2%, respectively, compared to the previous three months. Croatia followed with GDP growth of 1% in the first quarter compared to the previous three months, when it increased by 2%, according to seasonally adjusted data.Only Denmark saw a decrease in activity, by 1.8%, while Estonia and the Netherlands recorded decreases of 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively. In Slovenia, GDP remained at the same level as the previous quarter.On an annual basis, the economy of the eurozone grew by 0.4% from January to March, the Eurostat data showed. In the fourth quarter of last year, activity in the euro area grew by 0.2%. At the EU level, GDP increased by 0.5% at the beginning of the year, slightly stronger than previous estimates showed. At the end of 2023, it increased by 0.3%. Malta's economy grew the most on an annual basis in the first quarter, by 4.6%. Croatia followed with GDP growth of 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. In the fourth quarter, it increased by 4.4%.  Cyprus was also in the group with economic activity growth at the beginning of the year of 3.4%. Ireland recorded by far the largest decline, by 5.9%. Estonia and Austria followed with decreases in activity of 2.1% and 1.2%, respectively.Employment in the EU and the eurozone grew at a similar pace to the end of 2023, but showed a slight annual slowdown, according to Eurostat. Croatia followed the European average with an increase in the number of employed persons in the first quarter by 0.3% compared to the previous three months when it increased by 0.4%.It was also close to the average in terms of the increase in the number of employed persons compared to the first three months of last year, with a growth rate of 1.1%. In the fourth quarter of last year, it was 1.9%. (ICE ZAGABRIA)

Fonte notizia: SEEBIZ online edition 7/6/2024