The number of employed persons declined by 0.2% in the eurozone but remained stable in the EU27 in the first quarter of 2012, compared with the previous quarter, according to estimates published by Eurostat, on 15 June. In the fourth quarter of 2011, employment slipped by 0.3% in the eurozone and by 0.1% in the EU27. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment declined by 0.5% in the eurozone and by 0.1% in the EU27 in the first quarter of 2012. Eurostat estimates that, in the first quarter of 2012, 222.9 million men and women were employed in the EU27, of whom 146.1 million in the eurozone. These figures are adjusted for seasonal variations.