Industrial production and employment fall in Europe

Industrial production in Europe appears to be bottoming but it is taking its time in turning back up. From Eurostat yesterday:

In July 2009 compared with June 2009, seasonally adjusted industrial production fell by 0.3% in the euro area (EA16) and by 0.2% in the EU27. In June production decreased by 0.2% and 0.1% respectively.

In July 2009 compared with July 2008, industrial production declined by 15.9% in the euro area and by 14.7% in the EU27.

Industrial production, % change compared with previous month
Total industry	Feb 09	Mar 09	Apr 09	May 09	Jun 09	Jul 09
EA16	-2.4	-1.1	-1.6	0.7	-0.2	-0.3
EU27	-2.0	-1.1	-0.9	0.1	-0.1	-0.2

In another report yesterday, Eurostat reported that employment in Europe fell again in the second quarter.

The number of persons employed in the euro area (EA16) fell by 0.5% (702 000 persons) in the second quarter of 2009 compared with the previous quarter, according to national accounts estimates published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. In the same period, the number of persons employed in the EU27 decreased by 0.6% (1 443 000 persons). In the first quarter of 2009, employment declined by 0.7% in the euro area and by 0.8% in the EU27. These figures are seasonally adjusted.