AROUND 5 MILLION jobs were lost across Europe in the second quarter of the year, according to the latest data from the European Union.

It represents the sharpest contraction in the jobs market since records began in 1995 and highlights the dramatic impact of the pandemic across the economies that make up bloc.

The number of people employed in the 19 countries of the euro area fell by 2.6% from the first quarter of the year. At 2.8%, the decline was slightly worse in the broader EU27.

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Commission, said, “Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment decreased by 2.9% in the euro area and by 2.7% in the EU in the second quarter of 2020″ after 0.4% increases “in both zones in the first quarter of 2020″.

Alongside the jobs figures, Eurostat released aggregated estimates of European gross domestic product during the quarter based on official figures from each member state.

They reveal that, according to the most commonly used definition, Europe is officially in recession after two consecutive quarters of economic decline.

Between April and June, economic output fell by 12.1% in the euro area and 11.7% in the broader EU from the first quarter of the year. It followed on from a 3.6% and 3.2% fall in euro area and EU GDP respectively in the first quarter of 2020 from the final quarter of 2019.

It means that the eurozone economy has shrunk by 15% from a year ago.

The latest data also shines a light on the uneven nature of the economic impact of the virus across the different countries of the EU.

Spain, also one of the country’s worst-hit by the virus, experienced an estimated 18.5% decrease in GDP in the quarter, the largest of any country included in the release.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is Finland, which suffered a 3.2% decrease in GDP, the least of any EU member state during the period.

Seven countries in the bloc, including Ireland, have not yet released official GDP data for quarter and are not included in today’s release.

Separately, official figures released earlier this week by the Office of National Statistics in the UK this week revealed a 20.4% contraction in British GDP, the worst decline experienced by any G7 country in the second quarter of the year.