Last year came to an end with 17,300 more unemployed and a rising unemployment rate of 17.98%

Madrid (ACN) .- 17,300 more people lost their jobs in the fourth quarter of 2010 pushing the number of jobless people in Catalonia to 686.800. According to the Statistical Institute of Spain, the unemployment rate at the end of 2010 was 17.98%, a half a percent more than the rate recorded in the third quarter of the year. The industry sector is still the driver of all the economic activity in the Catalan labour market and is in fact the only sector that creates jobs.

The total number of unemployed in Spain increased in the fourth quarter of 2010 as well by 121,900 people pushing the total number to 4.67 million. In one year, the total number of unemployed increased by 370,100 people. The unemployment rate at the end of 2010 was 20.33%, more than in the third quarter. The number of employable people in Spain was 23.1 million. The activity rate fell by nine tenths leaving it at 59.99%.

The evolution of the Spanish labour market was more favourable for women than for men, both in terms of employment and unemployment. Unemployment rates went up for age groups like youth but went down for age groups like the following - 35 to 44 year olds and the over 55s.

Statistics show that the industry sector continues to act as the driver of economic activity and therefore, as the driver of the labour market in Catalonia. The good performance of this sector made it the only creator of jobs in the last quarter of 2010. The number of employees working in the sector grew by 2,000 putting the figure to 606,200.

According to the Central Statistic Office (EPA), the remaining sectors recorded job losses in the fourth quarter of 2010. The construction sector is decreasing. For the last two years, there has been a continuous decline in the number of employees. Between October and December the number of workers in this sector fell by 19,000 people. In one year, the fall correspondent with 42,000 people.

Population with a job in Catalonia in the fourth quarter was down 42,600 people, representing a decrease of 1.34%. This is the first decline after two consecutive quarters on the rise. Thus, 2,900 jobs were destroyed in 2010.

As for the unemployed, the number rose by 17,300 people between October and December. This figure contrasts with the third quarter, when the number of unemployed people fell by 6,700 people in Catalonia. At the end of 2010, there were 686,800 Catalans listed unemployed. This shows an increase of 2.59% in three months and 6.8% in a year (43,700 more unemployed than in late 2009). The increase in unemployment occurs among both men and women. In the first case, the fourth quarter grew to 16,100 the number of unemployed people. In the case of women, the increase stood at 1,200 people.

The unemployment rate stood at 17.98%. By gender, the unemployment rate for men stood at 19.23%, over the women, which is 16.49%.