Slight uptick in unemployment but best January figures since 2008

Catalonia began 2025 with 37,580 fewer workers signed up to social security, with the number of employed people standing at 3,753,244 in January, 0.99% less than in December.

Despite this, January 2025 saw the highest figure in the historical series for this month, but far from the employment records reached in the summer (3.8 million).

Compared to January of last year, there was a 2.13% (+78,347) increase in the number of people registered with social security.

Comparing month-to-month, Catalonia saw an increase of 1,444 workers without jobs in January compared to December. 

In total there were 336,639 jobless workers, the lowest figure for any January since 2008. This is 0.43% more than the previous month, but 3.01% less than January 2024.

In Spain as a whole, there were 2,599,443 unemployed people in January, with a rise of 38,725 people compared to December.

Comapred to the same month in 2024, the number of unemployed people fell by 6.08%, with 168,417 fewer unemployed, as reported this Tuesday by the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy.