Unemployment sees second-best September in 12 years

Unemployment in Catalonia rose by 1,205 people for the month of September. Such a rise is by no means alarming - for the last 12 years unemployment has increased in September as tourism season comes to an end. 

The only exception to this however was 2018, when unemployment saw a 0.1% decrease from the month of August. So, it does represent an increase on last year.

Catalan labor minister Chakir el Homrani has highlighted the positive indications of the figures - he attributes the “second best September in 10 years” to “the smaller impact of the end of summer every year” due to a “less seasonalized economy.”

The bigger picture compared to last year echoes the positive signs. The current number of unemployed people in Catalonia is 372,623, a drop of 7,721 compared to this stage last year, when rates were over 380,000. 

Spain also saw a small rise of 0.45% for the month. Despite an increase with last year, where unemployment saw a sharp decrease of 122,798 people, Spain still recorded the lowest post-September figures since 2008, at 3,079,711 people.