Unemployment drops by over 26% in March compared to a year earlier

Unemployment in Catalonia dropped by 26.5% in March 2022 compared to a year earlier, slightly below the 27.45% annual decrease registered in February.

There were 371,486 jobseekers last month according to figures made public by Spain's labor ministry on Monday morning – the lowest number for the month of March since 2008 despite the cost of living crisis exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. 

Compared to February, there were 174 fewer unemployed workers. The number of people registered in the Social Security system went up by 25,922, and there were 153,546 more jobs last month than in March 2021. 

37% of all new contracts signed in Catalonia in March were permanent, 49.2% more than in February and 154.08% more than a year prior when Covid-19 restrictions were still widespread. 

As for furloughed workers, only 21,288 people were reported to be temporarily out of work, a record low. This is 5,100 fewer than a month earlier.