The quarter-on-quarter gain followed stable GDP in the euro area and 0.1 per cent growth in the EU in the first quarter of 2026. Compared with the same quarter of 2025, seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 1.2 per cent in the euro area and by 1.4 per cent in the EU in the second quarter of 2026, after increases of 0.6 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively in the previous quarter, the estimates showed.
Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, said US GDP increased by 0.4 per cent in the second quarter from the previous quarter, after 0.5 per cent in the first quarter. On a year-on-year basis, US GDP increased by 2.1 per cent, after 2.7 per cent in the previous quarter.
Seasonally adjusted GDP rose 0.6 per cent in the euro area and 0.7 per cent in the EU in the second quarter of 2026 from the previous quarter.
Exports less imports contributed positively, a key signal for apparel and textile trade planners tracking European demand.
Employment edged up 0.1 per cent in both areas; Eurostat may revise estimates with its October 20 database update.
Among Member States, Eurostat recorded the highest quarter-on-quarter GDP increase in Ireland at 10.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, followed by Slovenia at 1.8 per cent and Lithuania at 1.7 per cent. Austria, down 0.1 per cent, was the only Member State to record a decrease compared with the previous quarter.
On the expenditure side, Eurostat said household final consumption expenditure contributed 0.2 percentage points to quarterly GDP growth in both the euro area and the EU, while government final consumption expenditure was negligible for both. Gross fixed capital formation was negligible for the euro area and positive for the EU at 0.1 percentage points. Changes in inventories subtracted 0.5 percentage points in both areas, while exports less imports added 0.9 percentage points in the euro area and 0.8 percentage points in the EU.
Based on seasonally adjusted figures, Eurostat estimated that 221.4 million people were employed in the EU in the second quarter of 2026, of whom 176.4 million were in the euro area. The number of employed persons increased by 0.1 per cent in both the euro area and the EU from the previous quarter; in the first quarter, employment had increased by 0.1 per cent in the euro area and had remained stable in the EU.
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment increased by 0.5 per cent in the euro area and by 0.4 per cent in the EU in the second quarter, after 0.5 per cent growth in both areas in the first quarter, Eurostat said. Hours worked rose by 0.1 per cent in both areas compared with the previous quarter and increased year-on-year by 0.7 per cent in the euro area and 0.8 per cent in the EU. Eurostat said these data provide a picture of labour input consistent with the output and income measure of national accounts.
For employment in persons by Member State, Eurostat said Portugal recorded the highest quarter-on-quarter increase in the second quarter at 1.0 per cent, followed by Czechia and Malta at 0.9 per cent each. The highest declines were recorded in Finland at 0.8 per cent and Greece at 0.4 per cent.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (CG)
