The European Union’s (EU) economy expanded faster than anticipated last quarter, driven by stronger consumption and investment, which helped counteract weak exports and the significant uncertainty stemming from U.S. trade policies.
According to Eurostat data released on Friday, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 0.3 percent in both the euro area and the EU in Q4 2025, compared with the previous quarter. In the third quarter of 2025, GDP had increased by 0.3 percent in the euro area and by 0.4 percent in the EU.
Lithuania leads growth
According to an estimation of annual growth for 2025, based on quarterly seasonally and calendar adjusted data, GDP increased by 1.5 percent in the euro area and by 1.6 percent in the EU.
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 1.3 percent in the euro area and by 1.4 percent in the EU in the fourth quarter of 2025, after a 1.4 percent rise in the euro area and 1.6 percent increase in the EUÂ in the previous quarter.
Among EU member states for which data are available for the fourth quarter of 2025, Lithuania recorded the highest increase compared to the previous quarter at 1.7 percent, followed by Spain and Portugal, both recording 0.8 percent growth.
Ireland was the only member state that recorded a decrease compared to the previous quarter. The year-on-year growth rate was positive for 14 countries and stable for one country.
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EU unemployment rate holds at 5.9 percent
Eurostat also released on Friday key EU unemployment data, revealing that in December 2025, the euro area’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined to 6.2 percent from 6.3 percent in November 2025 as well as in December 2024. Meanwhile, the EU unemployment rate was 5.9 percent in December 2025, stable compared with November 2025 and with December 2024.
Eurostat estimates that 13.043 million persons in the EU, of whom 10.792 million in the euro area, were unemployed in December 2025. Compared with November 2025, unemployment decreased by 94 thousand in the EU and by 61 thousand in the euro area. On an annual basis, unemployment increased by 71 thousand in the EU and decreased by 5 thousand in the euro area.
In December 2025, 2.857 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of whom 2.257 million were in the euro area. In the EU, the youth unemployment rate was 14.7 percent, down from 14.9 percent in the previous month, and 14.3 percent in the euro area, also down from 14.4% in November 2025.
