Mubasher: Employment rate for the Eurozone and the 28-member European Union (EU28) both increased 0.4% in the first quarter of 2018, compared with 0.3% and 0.2% respectively in the previous quarter, recording new highs.

In the first three months of the year, 237.9 million men and women were employed in the EU28, among which were 157.2 million in the Eurozone, data by the Eurozone’s statistical office, the Eurostat, revealed on Wednesday.

Moreover, employment for both areas saw a 1.4% rise in the first quarter of 2018, compared with the same quarter last year.

Romania recorded the highest employment growth 1.9%, followed by Malta with 1.3%, while Portugal, Luxembourg and Croatia all logged a growth of 1.0%, according to the Eurostat.

On the other hand, a decline was observed in Estonia at 1.4% during the three months, with stable employment rates in both in Bulgaria and Lithuania.

By 9:42 am GMT, the EUR/USD pair inched up 0.03% to $1.1748.