Eurozone growth rebounds in Q2 as unemployment holds steady

30th Jul 2026 11:21

(Sharecast News) - Eurozone economic growth accelerated in the second quarter, while the bloc's unemployment rate remained stable in June, according to figures released by Eurostat on Thursday.

Seasonally adjusted gross domestic product increased 0.4% during the three months to June compared with the previous quarter, when output was unchanged. On an annual basis, the euro-area economy expanded 1.0%, accelerating from growth of 0.5% in the first quarter.

Ireland recorded the strongest quarter-on-quarter performance among member states for which data were available, with GDP rebounding 3.9% following a 7.0% contraction in the first quarter.

Lithuania's economy grew by 1.7%, followed by Finland at 0.9% and Portugal at 0.8%. Belgium and Austria were the weakest performers, with output unchanged from the previous quarter.

On a year-on-year basis, Lithuania led the bloc with annual growth of 3.8%, followed by Spain at 2.7%, while Portugal and Finland both expanded 2.5%. Ireland was the only country reporting an annual decline, with GDP falling 5.6%.

Separately, the seasonally adjusted eurozone unemployment rate held at 6.3% in June, unchanged both from the month before and 12 months earlier.

Eurostat estimated that 11.13m people were unemployed across the currency bloc, an increase of 71,000 month-on-month and 43,000 compared with June 2025.

Finland recorded the highest unemployment rate at 10.5%, followed by Spain at 10.1%, France at 8.2% and Greece at 8.0%. Cyprus had the lowest rate at 3.0%, ahead of Malta at 3.5%, while the Netherlands and Slovenia both stood at 3.8%.