According to the data released by Eurostat on September 8, the Eurozone’s GDP in the second quarter, after seasonal adjustments, fell by 11.8% from the previous quarter, while EU’s GDP fell by 11.4% from the previous quarter, the biggest drop on record since the records began in 1995. Compared with the second quarter of last year, GDP in the Eurozone and the European Union fell by a record 14.7% and 13.9% respectively, the steepest declines since the records began in 1995. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Europe in March this year, European Union countries have generally implemented stricter epidemic prevention measures. As the epidemic has stabilized, EU countries have gradually lifted some epidemic prevention measures from the end of May and started to resume work and production. Therefore, the second quarter was the period when the epidemic had the most severe impact on EU countries. The report pointed out that the decline in GDP in the second quarter was mainly due to a sharp drop in consumer spending, which fell by 12.4% quarter-to-quarter. From the perspective of EU member states, Spain (-18.5) experienced the most severe economic recession in the second quarter, followed by Croatia (-14.9%), Hungary (-14.5%), Greece (-14.0%), Portugal (-13.9%) and France (-13.8%). The least affected country was Finland, where GDP fell 4.5% in the second quarter. On the other hand, employment in the Eurozone and the European Union fell by 2.9% and 2.7%, respectively, in the second quarter from the previous quarter, the biggest declines on record. Eurostat estimates that employment in the Eurozone fell by 5.1 million, or 3.2%, in the second quarter from its peak in the fourth quarter of 2019. EU employment fell by 6.1 million, or 2.9%. With the current epidemic in Europe still continuing and even facing a rebound in the near future, it will take some time for the economy and employment to recover after the severe contraction.