Spain: Number Of Unemployed Has Fallen By 530,000 In Last Year
The number of unemployed in Spain has fallen by 530,000 in the last year and the unemployment rate has fallen to 18.91%. Since the worst moment of the economic crisis, 1.58 million net jobs have been created and there are almost two million fewer unemployed.
Development of the labour market during the third quarter of the year maintains the upturn stemming from the recovery by the Spanish economy. According to data from the Labour Force Survey (Spanish acronym: EPA) published by the National Statistics Institute (Spanish acronym: INE), 226,500 jobs were created between June and September. This is the highest figure for the third quarter of the year since 2005; in other words, since before the start of the recession. Job creation is increasing at an annual rate of 2.65%, 0.22 points higher than in the second quarter, which equates to the creation of 478,800 jobs in the last year to 18.53 million people in work. Most of the jobs created are in the private sector and full-time. The number of unemployed has fallen by 530,000, at an annual rate of 10.93%, to 4.32 million unemployed; the lowest level since the end of 2009. The unemployment rate stands at 18.91%, 2.27 points lower than one year ago and below 20% for the first time in the last six years.
The figures on the labour market for the third quarter show progress in the targets set to overcome the economic crisis; especially the goal to have 20 million people in work and continue lowering the unemployment rate. Since the worst moments of the recession (the first quarter of 2014 in terms of employment and the first quarter of 2013 in terms of unemployment), over 1.57 million net jobs have been created and unemployment has fallen by 1.96 million. The unemployment rate has since fallen by eight points.
According to the Labour Force Survey on the third quarter of the year, employment has increased by 226,500 when compared with the second quarter. Almost all these jobs were created in the private sector (217,700), while employment in the public sector has risen by 8,900. The number of employees with a permanent contract has fallen by 29,100 and the number of those with a temporary contract has increased by 245,900. These figures are related to seasonal factors; specifically, the increased activity in the hospitality industry and tourism sector. By sector, employment increased in non-farming sectors; mainly services, followed by industry and construction. All new jobs are full-time (330,500 more), while the number of employees with a part-time contract has fallen (104,000 fewer).
In the last 12 months, employment has increased by 478,800; mostly in the private sector (96.3% of the total) and full-time (532,100 more). Jobs have been created in all sectors; above all in services but also in agriculture, construction and industry. The number of employees with a permanent contract has risen by 213,100 and the number of those with a temporary contract rose by 242,600. Hence, the temporary employment rate stands at 26.96%, 0.81 points higher than a year ago.
As regards the unemployment figures, there was a reduction of 253,900 in the third quarter to 4.32 million. This is the lowest level since the end of 2009. Unemployment fell this quarter in all sectors, but especially in services. The number of unemployed who lost their job over one year ago fell by 123,500 and the number of unemployed first-time job-seekers fell by 1,600. In the last year, unemployment has fallen by 530,000, at a rate of -10.93%. It has fallen in all sectors except industry, where it remains unchanged.
The unemployment rate stood at 18.91% in the third quarter of the year, 1.09 points lower than in the second quarter and 2.27 points lower than a year ago. In the last 12 months, the number of households where all active members are unemployed has fallen by 134,700 to 1.44 million. In turn, the number of households where all active members are in employment has increased by 357,000 to 9.82 million.