The Catalan Unemployment Rate decreases by 32,500 people to reach 22.84 %

Barcelona (ACN).- The unemployment rate has decreased by 32,500 people in Catalonia during the third quarter of 2013 and is currently set at 22.84 %. These figures were issued by the Labour Force Survey (EPA) which was published on Thursday by the Spanish Institute of Statistics (INE). 840,500 people are currently unemployed in Catalonia, meaning a 3.72% decrease since the previous quarter. With these latest figures, Catalonia is leading the country in terms of unemployment reduction: in the whole of Spain, unemployment rate has fallen by 72,800 people while the rate is at 25.98 %. However, the Spanish Economy still registered 5,904,700 unemployed people in the third quarter of this year, according to the INE. 

The Survey recorded two consecutive trimesters of decrease in the unemployment rate, after it had reached new highs in the first trimester of 2013, with 902,300 people, and 24.53% of the population unemployed. In the second semester, these figures decreased to 23.85% and 873,000 people.

In Catalonia, the unemployment rate of men was slightly higher than that of women: 23.43% against 22.18%. However, in the whole country, the percentages were reversed and men recorded a lower unemployment rate (25.50%) than women (26.55%), in the third quarter, according to the Spanish Labor Force Survey.

Catalonia and Spain towards growing employment

In Catalonia, the number of employed people increased by 52,200 to reach 2,839,700. The Catalan Economy registered 19,700 extra workers, the highest growth in the country while 62.20 % of the Catalan population is currently economically active.

On the Spanish scale, the number of employed people increased by 39,500 to reach 16,823,200, as reported by the EPA Survey of the third quarter. By contrast, the employment rate stood at 59.59% and the number of economically active people dropped by 33,300.

Short-term contracts continue to prevail over long-term contracts

The number of independent workers increased by 15,200, the number of salaried workers by 23,200 while there were 20,300 extra company directors registered. The number of permanent contracts dropped by 146,300 whereas the number of temporary contracts increased by 169,500.

The number of employed people in the Service Sector increased (123,900 extra workers). However, other sectors such as Agriculture (55,000), Industry (19,700), and Construction (9,700), all registered drops in their number of workers. According to the INE Survey, the private sector employed 52,000 extra workers while the public sector registered a drop of 12,600 workers.