Unemployment in March lowest rate since 2008, 6.24% below 2022 

There were 348,301 people out of work last month in Catalonia, where unemployment reached a record low not seen in a third month of the year since 2008, 6.24% below the same month in 2022 according to figures made public on Tuesday by Spain's social security ministry. 

This is the second month in a row that has ended with a drop in unemployment and an increase in job creation, with the number of people out of work down by 2,987 (-0.85%) compared to February figures. 

In March there were 33,358 more registered workers, a 0.87% increase bringing the total to a record-high 3.6 million. This is the highest number since 2004 when records for Catalonia began.

The number of people registered with the social security office has grown in March over the last fifteen years, with the exception of 2009, in the midst of the financial crisis, and 2020, just after the outbreak of the Covid pandemic. 

Biggest monthly drop in Girona

Across Catalonia, unemployment has dropped the most in Girona compared to February, where it went down by 2.45%, and in Tarragona, where it went down by 2.1%. 

Meanwhile, in Lleida unemployment dropped by 0.93%, while in Barcelona it decreased by 0.43%. 

Year-on-year, however, it went down the most in Lleida (-11.8%), followed by Tarragona (-10.4%), Girona (-9%), and Barcelona (-3.6%). 

Unemployment in Spain

Across Spain unemployment dropped by 48,755 people compared to February, bringing it below the 3 million person threshold. 

This 1.67% decrease was the highest for the month of March in two decades. According to Spain's labor ministry, "it is a particularly positive figure in an international economic context of uncertainty, especially in the financial field."

Unemployment in Catalonia, down by 0.85% on February's rate, decreased at a slower rate than the Spanish average, with the Balearic Islands (-4.12%), Cantabria (-3.76%), and Castille Leon (-3.44%) topping the charts. 

48% permanent contracts

A year after Spain's labor law reform, there are fewer new contracts, but more are permanent.  Almost half of all contracts in Catalonia, 48%, are permanent, slightly more than the 46.8% average across Spain. 

In Catalonia, 210,440 new contracts were signed in March, 16% less than a year ago. 101,198 of these were permanent, 23.51% more than in February and 8.65% more than in the same month in 2022.