On Thursday the statistics agency Eurostat revealed the Eurozone’s economy contracted in the first quarter of 2023. That would be the second consecutive quarter of economic contraction, meaning the Eurozone has now entered a technical recession.

The announcement followed a downward revision of growth in the Eurozone for the fourth quarter of 2022, as well as the first quarter of 2023.

According to a statement from Eurostat, Between January and March, the Eurozone’s Gross Domestic Product shrank by 0.1% compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.

The data was attributed by Eurostat to a downturn in both government and household spending, as well as revised data from Germany which indicated the largest economy in the Eurozone had entered a recession itself in the first quarter of the year.

The report noted that household consumption fell by 0.3% in the Eurozone in the first quarter, as consumers faced soaring prices.

Bloomberg’s Maeva Cousin and David Powell noted, “We expect growth to resume from 2Q23, but stay subdued through 2023, as headwinds from tighter financing conditions and faltering global demand keep a lid on activity.”

Ireland and Lithuania endured steep declines in GDP (4.6% and 2.1% respectively) while Germany saw its GDP decline by 0.3% according to the data.

Malta, Greece, and the Netherlands all also reported declines in GDP quarter over quarter.

Andrew Kenningham, chief Europe economist at Capital Economics, said, “News that GDP contracted in the first quarter after all means that the Eurozone has already fallen into a technical recession. We suspect that the economy will contract further over the rest of this year.”

The new data shows, that even despite the European Central Banks. reassurances that a recession could be avoided, despite inflation hitting the highest levels since the introduction of the euro, the state of the economy in Europe is not yet ready to begin a recovery.