Catalonia ended 2012 with a record 23.9% unemployment rate, 110,000 more jobseekers than a year ago

Barcelona (ACN).- Unemployment in Catalonia had broken all previous records by the end of 2012, reaching an unemployment rate of 23.94% with 885,000 jobseekers, 110,000 more than a year ago, according to the Active Population Survey published by the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE) on Thursday. A year ago, there were 775,000 jobseekers in Catalonia, representing a rate of 20.5%. The new figure breaks the 22.8% record from the third quarter of 1985. In the whole of Spain, unemployment reached a rate of 26.02%, while a year ago it was 22.85%. It increased by 13.1% over the last twelve months, adding 691,700 more jobseekers to the list. This means that the historical ceiling of 5,965,400 people being without a job in Spain was reached, very close to the psychological barrier of 6 million. Additionally, youth unemployment in Spain reached 55.13% and there were 1.83 million households where all the members were without a job.

According to the last Active Population Survey (EPA, in Catalan), unemployment has continued to increase for another term in Catalonia and in Spain. In particular, there were 885,100 Catalans without a job and looking for a new one at the end of December, 89,000 more than three months previously and 110,000 more than a year ago. With these figures, Catalonia is the second Autonomous Community where unemployment has increased the most over the last year, only overtaken by Andalusia. With a 35.86% unemployment rate, Andalusia had 194,000 more jobseekers at the end of last month than a year ago,

Almost 6 million unemployed people in Spain

In the whole of Spain, the number of people who were unemployed almost reached 6 million by the end of 2012. In the fourth quarter of last year, the number of those without a job and looking for one had reached 5,965,400 individuals in Spain, setting the unemployment rate at 26.02%. This means that compared to a year ago, unemployment in Spain increased by 13.1%, adding 691,700 jobseekers to the lists.

Genre and youth unemployment

In the last quarter of the year, 71,100 more men and 116,200 more women were unemployed in Spain. The male unemployment rate was 25.58% while female unemployment was 26.55%. Additionally, youth unemployment (those under 25) increased even more, reaching a rate of 55.13%, 6.57% more than a year ago. The total number of young unemployed people reached 930,200, 15.59% of the total jobseekers in Spain and 46,100 more than at the end of 2011. 737,500 of the unemployed youngsters were between 20 and 24 years old, while 192,700 were between 16 and 19.

More households with all their members unemployed

In addition, according to the EPA, the number of households where all their members were without a job increased dramatically. Only in the last three months of the year, 95,800 more families were added to the list, making the total number 1,833,700 households. The figure is much higher than a year ago, with 258,700 more families.

Unemployment increased in all the sectors except agriculture

Looking at the economy sectors, during the last quarter of the year, unemployment increased in all the sectors except agriculture, where 63,700 more people had a job. However, unemployment increased in the service sector by 305,600 individuals throughout Spain, in the construction sector it grew by 62,900 and in the industrial sector 58,500 jobs were lost.

Tarragona Province leads Catalonia’s unemployment rate

Regarding the four Catalan provinces, the Province of Tarragona (southern Catalonia) is leading the ranking with a 25.53% unemployment rate at the end of the year. In total, there were 104,800 jobseekers, 4,900 more than three months previously and 20,000 more than a year ago. The second province with the highest unemployment rate is Girona (north-eastern Catalonia), which ended 2012 with a rate of 24.22% and 91,500 people being unemployed. This represents a 2,100-person increase compared to a year ago. However, the area with the highest statistical impact is the Province of Barcelona, which concentrates two thirds of the Catalan population. In Barcelona there were 651,500 people without a job and looking for a new one, representing a rate of 24.13% at the end of the year. This represents an increase of 28,700 individuals in the last quarter of the year and 93,300 more people than twelve months ago. Finally, the last province is Lleida (north-western Catalonia), which ended the year with an unemployment rate of 17.8%. The total number of jobseekers reached 37,300 individuals, 500 less than three months previously and 5,100 more than a year ago.