According to figures from the Eurostat, employment in the Euro Area increased by 1.5 percent when compared to the previous year, while it was up 1.4 percent in the European Union (EU) 28 area. The highest levels of employment were recorded in the first quarter of 2017, revealing that 234.2 million men and women were employed in the EU28. Estonia recorded the highest year-on-year increase in employment at 2.8 percent, while Latvia declined by 1.9 percent. Hourly labour costs – wages and salaries and non-wage costs — rose in both areas in the first quarter.
