Unemployment falls to 19.1% in Catalonia and 22.4% in Spain in June

Barcelona (ACN).- At the end of June there were 31,900 fewer jobseekers in Catalonia than in March and 44,200 less than a year ago, according to the Active Population Survey for the second quarter of the year released on Thursday by the Spanish Minister of Employment and Social Security. These figures represent a 4.21% drop in quarterly terms and a 5.75% decrease in annual terms. Unemployment in Catalonia has now accumulated 8 consecutive terms of annual decreases. The figures released on Thursday mean Catalonia's total number of unemployed was 726,200 individuals and the unemployment rate was 19.1% at the end of the second quarter. In March, the unemployment rate was 20.05%; in December, 19.88%; and in September, 19.1% as well, the same as for June of this year. In addition, the number of people with a job increased by 51,800 individuals between March and June, a 1.71% increase in quarterly terms. Compared to a year ago, in June there were 35,000 more people with a job than in June 2014. The Catalan Government welcomed the figures, emphasising the reduction in unemployment and the increase in job creation; with the active population also increasing. However, it stressed that efforts have to be continued as there is "still many people without a job", stated Joan Aregio, Catalan Deputy Minister for Employment.

At Spanish level, unemployment also decreased during the second quarter of the year, with 295,600 fewer jobseekers, a 5.43% reduction on the figures from March. In the whole of Spain there were 5,149,000 people without a job and a 22.37% unemployment rate. In March, Spain's unemployment rate was 23.8% and in June 2014 it was 24.5%. In the last 12 months, the number of unemployed has decreased by 473,900 individuals. As well as this, at the end of June there were 486,700 more people with a job in Spain than 3 months previous, a 2.36% growth which means there are a total of 17,866,500 people with a job in the country. The employment increase is mostly due to the private sector, as the figures for the public sector have barely changed.

Youth unemployment, the lowest in 4 years but still enormously high

In Catalonia, the global unemployment rate registered at the end of June was 19.1%. However the unemployment rate for those aged between 16 and 24 (young people who are looking for a job) was 43.74%, the lowest for the last 4 years, since the third quarter of 2011, when it was 42.8%. The unemployment rate for people over 55 was 19.29%.

Industrial and services sectors create jobs while the primary and construction sectors lose them

The activity of the industrial sector during the second quarter of 2015 has been the main driver of job creation in Catalonia in relative terms (in absolute terms the highest number of jobs created was in the service sector, spurred by the tourist season). Catalonia's industrial sector created 21,200 more jobs compared to March and 23,300 more compared to a year ago, a 3.76% and a 4.15% increase respectively. The service sector created 34,600 new jobs compared to March (+1.56%) and 3,100 more jobs than a year ago (+0.14%).

However, employment decreased in the agrarian and construction services. The construction industry suffered from the end of the public works commissioned by town halls to be finished just before last May's municipal elections. 3,500 jobs were lost in this sector by the end of June compared to those which existed in March, a 1.86% loss, but there were still 7,300 more jobs in this sector compared to a year ago (+4.11%). The primary sector lost 400 jobs in the second quarter of 2015 (-0.85%) but created 1,300 jobs in annual terms (+2.88%).

All Catalan provinces post positive results in quarterly and annual terms

Finally, in all 4 Catalan provinces unemployment decreased and employment grew, both in quarterly and annual terms. In Barcelona, the unemployment rate was 18.97% in June (compared to 19.58% in March and 19.72% a year ago) and employment grew by 1.45% in quarterly terms and 0.87% in annual terms. Girona's unemployment rate was 19.21% (it was 21.9% in March and 22.45% a year ago) and employment increased by 2.51% compared to March and 1.14% in annual terms.

In Lleida, the unemployment rate was 14.94% in June (down from the 16.91% rate recorded in March and the 15.81% rate from a year ago), registering one of the lowest unemployment rates in the whole of Spain. The number of jobs in Lleida grew by 3.02% from March and by 2.68% from a year ago. Finally, Tarragona's unemployment rate in June was 22.16% (in March it was 23.17% and a year ago it was 23.79%) and employment increased by 2.09% and 2.29% in quarterly and annual terms respectively.