Unemployment fell to 10.4% at end of 2019

The unemployment rate fell at the end of 2019 to 10.45%, the lowest figure since the third term of 2008, when the global financial crisis was beginning to unfold.

During the last year some 87,000 jobs were created, reaching a total of 3,478,100 in December.

The 405,000 people out of work at the end of 2019 was 10.1% less than twelve months previously, when the rate was 11.7%.

The figures from Spain's statistics institute's labor force survey (EPA) show that despite the drop, the unemployment rate among the under 25s was 26.2% in December 2019.

Meanwhile, for 25 to 54-year-olds, the jobless rate was 9.1%, and even lower for those 55 and over (8.8%).

The differences were also significant between foreigners living in Catalonia (17.2%), and people born in Spain (9.08%).

While the unemployment rate overall in Catalonia was 10.45%, in the whole of Spain it was higher (13.78%).