Unemployment drops for second consecutive term in Catalonia

The 3rd term (July-September) ended with less people unemployed in Catalonia, concretely 6,700 people less. The unemployment rate has decreased 3 decimals and is now 17.41% of the active population. In addition, Catalonia represents half of all the new jobs created in Spain this term, with 34,500 jobs created. It is the first time in the last year that unemployment has dropped for the whole of Spain.

CNA / E. Romagosa

October 30, 2010 12:34 AM

Madrid (ACN).- The 3rd term of the year ended with 669,400 unemployed people in Catalonia, 6,700 less than in the end of the 2nd term, according to the Spanish Institute of Statistics. The unemployment rate is now at 17.41%, 3 decimals less. This is the second consecutive unemployment drop in Catalonia. It is also the first time it has dropped for the whole of Spain in the last year. Catalonia leads job creation in Spain: half of the new jobs created in Spain in the last term were created in Catalonia. 34,500 new jobs were created in Catalonia between July and September. These kinds of figures have not been registered since the 1st term of 2009. These new 34,500 jobs make a working population of 3.17 million people in Catalonia. The activity rate is 63.27%, 4 decimals more than in the 2nd term.


For the first time in the last year, unemployment has dropped in Spain. It dropped by 70,800 people, representing a 3 decimal decrease. The unemployment rate for Spain is now at 19.79%, with more than 4.5 million people. The active population remains the same, although the number of occupied people has increased by 69,900, half of which live in Catalonia. The activity rate for the whole of Spain is 60%.

Despite the creation of jobs this 3rd term, 1.1% higher in Catalonia than in the previous term, Catalonia has lost 23,200 jobs in this year. Regarding the unemployment rate, there are now 62,200 more people registered than in the same period in 2009, which represents a 10.25% increase of unemployed people.

In total, unemployed people in Catalonia are 669,400. 43% are women and 57% are men. The female unemployment rate is 16.53% while the male is 18.18%.

Active population increases

The symptoms of the slow economic recovery are that the active population in Catalonia has increased this 3rd term by 27,800 people, in relation to the previous term. However, for the whole of Spain, the active population has remained stable, with a marginal decrease of 800 people with a job or the intention to look for a job.