BRUSSELS Reuters showed that economic growth in the Euro zone was stronger than previously expected in the first quarter and employment increased too, showing the euro zone expanded at the solid pace of the end of 2021 despite the war in Ukraine.
The European Union's statistics office said that the gross domestic product of the 19 countries sharing the euro rose by 0.3% quarter-on-quarter in January-March for a 5.1% year-on-year growth.
Eurostat had earlier estimated the growth rate at 0.2 quarter-on-quarter and 5.0% year-on-year.
The data shows that the euro zone expanded at the same quarterly pace in the first three months of 2022 as in the last three months of 2021, despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, which disrupted supply chains, hit confidence and strongly increased energy prices.
Employment growth was 0.5% quarter-on-quarter and 2.6% year-on-year in the first quarter, according to Eurostat.