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Unemployment has reached a new historical record in Catalonia, with 641,948 people being signed on. These figures mean that 8,738 more people were out of work in February compared to January. In Spain as a whole unemployment increased by 112,269 people in February. This is 2.44% more than the previous month and puts the total number of people registered as unemployed on February 29th at 4,712,098.

At the end of last year there were 775,400 people registered as unemployed in Catalonia. The Catalan labour market lost 126,700 jobs over the year, which represents a 4% drop in the percentage of people in employment. In Spain as a whole, the unemployment rate reached 22.85%, with 5.273 million people unemployed.

The 2011 price increase is 0.5 percentage points below the 3% inflation rate of 2010 thanks to a drop in the price of fuel and oil and the leveling off of tobacco prices. Inflation in December 2011 was 0.2 points higher compared to December 2010.

At the end of 2011 there were 614,244 people registered as unemployed in Catalonia, 9.17% more than a year ago. However, unemployment dropped in December by 1,425 people, after it stabilised in November, leaving September and October as the worst months of the year. In stark contrast to Catalonia, the rest of Spain experienced an increase in unemployment in December and 2011 ended with 4,422,359 people signing on the register, 7.86% more than at the end of 2010.

Prices have increased by 3% over the past 12 months. This represents a fall in the annual inflation rate compared to that registered in October (3.1%). In Spain as a whole, November’s annual inflation rate was set at 2.9%. The decrease in the price of medication and fuel is behind the slight annual price reduction. However, in Catalonia the monthly inflation rate increased in November by 0.4% compared to those registered in October, mainly due to an increase in the price of clothes.

With a marginal increase of 111 people, unemployment stabilised last month. The Catalan Government believes the stagnation in the unemployment figures corresponds to the first effects of its action plan launched at the end of October. In Spain, unemployment increased by 59,536 people at the end of November. The latest data set a new historical record for unemployment in both Catalonia and Spain.

The Catalan Government considered the figures “worrying” but puts them to a “complicated” financial situation that has provoked an economic uncertainty. On Tuesday, the Government announced an action plan to reduce unemployment in the short term. In Spain, there are almost 5 million unemployed people, which represents an unemployment rate of 21.52%. Lleida has Spain’s lowest unemployment rate, set at 13.02%.

The Catalan Minister for Business and Employment has stressed that the Government’s objective is to reduce unemployment by half by 2014. The plan foresees ten measures, with a special focus on the long-term unemployed. Some of the measures include incentives to SME companies to hire the long-term unemployed, collaborating with private temporary work agencies, enlarging the network of education classrooms and relocating staff from the Catalan Public Employment Service to provide job search council and other direct services.

Comparing the annual inflation rate registered in August, prices increased from 3.0% to 3.2%, after four consecutive months of drops. For the whole of Spain, the annual inflation in September was 3.1%.

September has been a bad month for employment over the last number of years, but this past September is the worst in the last 11 years. The Spanish Government has blamed the budget cuts undergone by the Autonomous Communities for the unemployment increase. The Spokesperson for the Catalan Government considers Madrid’s statements as “offensive” and “pitiful”, and he stressed that the Spanish Government had asked them to double their public spending cuts. He also added that the Spanish Government has not paid the money that it owes.

Brussels believes it is "unlikely" to relapse into a second recession but warned that the possibility "can not be excluded". The European Commission has not lowered its growth forecast for Spain or the whole of the Euro area despite the financial turbulences of the last weeks.

The inter-annual rate shows four consecutive months of price decline which has not been seen since November 2008.

A total of 584,648 people have ended up on the Public Employment Service of Catalonia (SOC) list of registered unemployed, representing an increase of 13,779 people, 2.41% more in relation to in July this year.

During July, inflation rates experienced their third consecutive month of decline. In the last 12 months, the cumulative price increase now stands at 3.2% in Catalonia. The drop of summer sales has helped to lower inflation.

According to the consultancy firm Jones Lang Lasalle, the office rental rate for second quarter of 2011 in Barcelona has increased 42% compared to the same period in 2010. 74,500 square metres of new office space have been rented out between April and June 2011, 14% more than those registered during the first quarter. The “prime” zone has reached 2005 activity levels.