Ages 16-19 see most employment growth in 2017

Workplaces occupied by young people between the ages of 16 and 19 years old increased by 17% between the fourth quarter of 2016 to that in 2017, according to data published by the Active Population Survey (EPA) in January. The same organization observed an average employment growth of 3.55% in the last year as well.

Sandalio Gómez, Professor Emeritus of Labor Relations at the IESE Business University highlights the fact that employment industrial sector demands a high level of training and specialization, ultimately yielding high productivity. This dynamic is not the same in the service industry sector, which, despite being the most active in job creation, provides employment of a largely temporary nature and with lower training requirements. Gómez further highlighted the importance of Catalonia in the industrial field.

The EPA indicates that employment growth 2017 also increased 13.98% among young people aged 20 and 24. These are growths well above the average creation of new jobs registered in Catalonia last year, which was 3.55%.

Additionally, in the age ranges between 25 and 34 the increase in employment last year was 2.46%, for those individuals between 35 and 44 it went up by 0.79%, for workers between the ages 45 and 54 it grew by 4.5%, and it increased by 5.11% in individuals over 55.