June sees lowest jobless total in Catalonia since 2008

The jobless total in Catalonia fell by 15,376 people in June, a drop of 3.99% compared with May, to 370,192, according to the figures for the number of unemployed people registered with the Catalan Employment Service (SOC in Catalan), published on Tuesday.

The new figures, which are affected by the start of summer when unemployment traditionally falls due to seasonal work in the tourism industry, reflect the largest fall in the jobless total in Catalonia since 2008, and the largest anywhere in Spain last month.  

However, seen from a monthly perspective, the 15,376 decrease is the most modest for a month of June since 2012. For example, there were 21,196 fewer people registered with the SOC last June, which was the 60th consecutive monthly drop in the jobless rate.

The fall in the number of unemployed people was noted in all sectors of the Catalan economy, but particularly in the service sector (11,677 people), which is the most active over the summer thanks to a rise in tourist activity and the onset of sales in the retail sector.

As for the different areas of the country, the SOC says the Barcelona counties registered a fall of 8,502 people to a jobless total of 276,767, the lowest figure for the area since September 2008. Yet, the drop in June was less than last year’s figure of 17,800 people.

Meanwhile, the northern area of Girona registered 2,397 fewer unemployed people in June, reducing the local total to 32,299 persones, according to the SOC figures. In the Lleida area in the west, there was a drop of 1,610 to 18,511 unemployed people, while for Tarragona in the south the numbers were 2,867 and 42,615, respectively.

Slight rise in permanent contracts

The SOC data also shows that in June 322,935 new work contracts were signed in Catalonia, 0.68% fewer than in the same month last year. Of these, 40,479 (12.5% of the total) were permanent, with 282,456 (87.47%) temporary. In June last year, the proportion of new permanent contracts to temporary contracts was 11.19% and 88.81%, respectively.