EU economy closes 2019 with weaker growth rate

The EU's annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate was 1.5% in 2019, while it was 2.1% in 2018, the bloc's statistical office's data showed on Tuesday.

Eurostat said the euro area's GDP growth rate of 1.2% was also weaker in 2019 than the previous year (1.9%).

Meanwhile, the EU27 and eurozone's economies grew by 1.2% and 1% in the last quarter of 2019, versus the same quarter 2018.

The eurozone/euro area or EA19 represents the member states that use the single currency -- the euro -- while the EU27 defines all member countries of the bloc.

Turkey's annual GDP growth rate was 0.9% in 2019, while it was 2.8% in 2018, according to Turkish Statistical Institute data.

- Employment

Eurostat also announced that employment saw increases of 1% in the EU27 and 1.2% in the EA19 in the last year, on a yearly basis.

These figures were 1% for the EU27 and 1% for the EA19 in the last quarter, said Eurostat.

"In the fourth quarter of 2019, 209.3 million people were employed in the EU27, of which 160.7 million were in the euro area," it added.