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The EU27 Member States granted protection to 102 700 asylum seekers in 2012, compared with 84 300 in 2011. In 2012, the highest number of persons granted protection status was registered in Germany (22 200), followed by Sweden (15 300), the United Kingdom (14 600) and France (14 300). All together, these four Member States accounted for nearly two thirds of all those granted protection status in the EU27. The largest groups of beneficiaries of protection status in the EU27 were citizens of Syria (18 700 persons or 18% of the total number of persons granted protection status), Afghanistan (13 500 or 13%) and Somalia (8 100 or 8%).

Hourly labour costs in the euro area (EA17) rose by 1.6% in the year up to the first quarter of 2013, compared with 1.3% for the fourth quarter of 2012. In the EU27, the annual rise was 1.9% up to the first quarter of 2013, compared with 1.3% in the previous quarter. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

The first estimate for the euro area (EA17) trade in goods balance with the rest of the world in April 2013 gave a 14.9 billion euro surplus, compared with +3.3 bn in April 2012. The March 2013 balance was +22.5 bn, compared with +6.9 bn in March 2012. In April 2013 compared with March 2013, seasonally adjusted exports fell by 0.8% while imports rose by 0.5%. These data are released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Euro area annual inflation was 1.4% in May 2013, up from 1.2% in April. A year earlier the rate was 2.4%. Monthly inflation was 0.1% in May 2013. European Union annual inflation was 1.6% in May 2013, up from 1.4% in April. A year earlier the rate was 2.6%. Monthly inflation was 0.1% in May 2013.

In the EU27, two thirds (66%) of all enterprises with ten or more employees provided vocational training to their staff in 2010, compared with 60% in 2005. The highest proportions of enterprises providing training were observed in Austria and Sweden (both 87%) the United Kingdom (80%), the Netherlands (79%), Belgium (78%) and France (76%), and the lowest in Poland (23%), Romania (24%), Bulgaria (31%), Latvia (40%) and Hungary (49%).

The EU27 external current account recorded a surplus of 21.8 billion euro (0.7% of GDP) in the first quarter of 2013, compared with a deficit of 7.7 bn (-0.2% of GDP) in the first quarter of 2012, according to first estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In 2012, 15.2 million foreign citizens worked in the EU27, accounting for 7% of total employment. Among these foreign citizens, 6.6 million were citizens of another EU Member State and 8.6 million were citizens of a country outside the EU. In the EU27, the employment rate for citizens of another EU Member State (67.7%) was slightly higher than for nationals (64.6%) and significantly higher than for citizens of a country outside the EU (53.7%).

In April 2013, compared with March 2013, the volume of retail trade fell by 0.5% in the euro area (EA17) and by 0.7% in the EU27, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In March retail trade decreased by 0.2% and 0.1% respectively.

GDP fell by 0.2% in the euro area (EA17) and by 0.1% in the EU27 during the first quarter of 2013, compared with the previous quarter, according to second estimates published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the fourth quarter of 2012, growth rates were -0.6% and -0.5% respectively.

In April 2013, compared with March 2013, the industrial producer price index fell by 0.6% in the euro area (EA17) and by 0.7% in the EU27, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In March prices decreased by 0.2% in both zones.