social security

Government calls social security reform "urgent" amid economic turbulences

Catalan vice president says they "will not leave families helpless"

Government report predicts 2018 turnaround in social security system deficit, guaranteeing pension payments to Catalan workers

Unemployment in Catalonia fell by 10.7% in March in comparison to the same month last year, totaling 446,017 people. According to the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security, 6,325 people left the unemployment lists last month, which represents a slight 1.40% decline in comparison to February. However, with this drop, Catalonia has now registered 45 consecutive months of declining unemployment in annual terms. The number of jobless also fell across the whole of Spain. There were 48,559 fewer unemployed at the end of March and the number of people without a job totaled 3,702,317. Moreover, the number of unemployed in comparison to the same month last year fell by 9.58%, the highest decline registered in March since the beginning of the historic series.

The number of people registered on the unemployment lists in Catalonia in February stood at 452,342 people, 1,581 fewer than in January, according to the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security. This February’s fall is the smallest registered for this month in the last 21 years. In annual terms, Catalonia has now listed 44 consecutive months of declining unemployment, since July 2013. Indeed, February has usually been a month with decreasing unemployment, except during the worst years of the economic crisis. The number of contracts registered in February stood at 222,369 units, the highest figure for the month of February since 2006. In the whole of Spain, unemployment also fell in February. There were 9,355 fewer unemployed than in January and the number of people without a job totalled 3,750,876.

The number of people unemployed and registered as such with the Catalan Public Employment Service (SOC) at the end of January increased by 278 people compared to December’s figures, a slight growth of 0.06%, according to data released this Thursday by the Spanish Ministry of Employment. Thus, the number of unemployed in Catalonia totalled 453,923. Despite this increase, the unemployment rates in annual terms has declined for 43 consecutive months and there are 64,157 fewer unemployed now than at the end of January 2016, which represents a 12.38% decrease. In Spain as a whole, unemployment has also grown and stood at 3,760,231 people at the end of January. This means that registered unemployment increased by 57,257 people in Spain, representing a 1.55% rise in comparison to last December.

The number of people registered on the unemployment lists in Catalonia at the end of 2016 stood at 453,645, some 62,023 fewer than at the same time in 2015, according to the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security.This is the best figure since 2008 and represents a 12% decrease in comparison to the unemployment registered at the end of 2015. Most of those who are still unemployed belong to the services sector (315,305), while nearly 56,000 correspond to the industry sector, more than 44,000 belong to the construction sector, nearly 11,500 to the agriculture sector and more than 26,500 were already unemployed. In the whole of Spain, 2016 finished with 390,534 fewer unemployed, who totalled 3,702,974 people. This is the biggest decline in the historic series and represents a 9.54% decrease in comparison to December 2015.

The laws for “disconnecting” Catalonia from Spain will not become effective unless the ‘Yes’ to independence wins the 2017 referendum. The spokesman of radical left pro-independence CUP’s national secretariat, Quim Arrufat, said in an interview with the Catalan News Agency that “no step forward will be made unless it is supported through the ballot boxes”. According to Arrufat, all the disconnection laws (the Legal Transition, the Catalan Tax Office and the Social Security System regulations) will have a clause that will impede them from entering into force if the ‘No’ to independence achieves a majority in the referendum. The politician focused on the legal transition law, which foresees the process for the Autonomous Community of Catalonia to become an independent state. He specified that the regulation will be applied in two steps, as part of the law will have to become effective before the referendum in order to call it even if the Spanish Government blocks it. The other clauses would only come into force in case of a pro-independence majority in the referendum.

Unemployment has fallen again in Catalonia, with the number of people registered on the unemployment lists of the Employment Service of Catalonia (SOC)  recorded as 470,205 people, 15,918 fewer than in April, according to the Ministry of Employment and Social Security. This is the fourth consecutive month of decline in unemployment for Catalonia, showing numbers that have not been seen since January of 2009, seven years ago, before the economic crisis. In annual terms, there has been a decrease in unemployment by 61,694 people, and 35 consecutive months of annual decreases have now been recorded; additionally, these figures represent the largest drop ever recorded in absolute numbers since the beginning of the records in 1996. Specifically, the services sector saw the most significant decline in unemployment. In Spain as a whole, unemployment has also dropped, to 3,891,403 registered people.

The first of three laws which will enable Catalonia to start the disconnection process from Spain has been registered this Tuesday. Pro-independence cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ and radical left CUP, which represent a majority of 72 pro-independence seats in the Catalan Parliament, registered the law for the creation of the Catalan Agency for Social Protection. Although the law represents a new structure, it is set to manage the current competences that the Catalan executive already has on this matter. Therefore, both parties admitted that the law is still “autonomic”. However, according to ‘Junts Pel Sí’ MP Chakir el Homrani “the Agency is necessary to manage the social security scheme, as happens in every country”.

There were 515,668 unemployed people in Catalonia at the end of 2015, which represents 60,280 fewer jobseekers than there were at the end of last year. This is the lowest figure since 2008, according to data released by the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security. In December alone, the number of unemployed people in Catalonia decreased by 5,992, which represents a fall of 1.15%. In the whole of Spain, 2015 registered 4,093,508 people without a job, nearly 8% lower than at the end of 2014, which is the highest annual drop in the historical series. More than 1.5 million new contracts were signed in the whole of Spain during 2015, however less than 7% of them were permanent. 

Official data released on Tuesday by the Spanish Employment Ministry show that both Catalonia and Spain as a whole registered the largest monthly decline in unemployment for a month of April since 1996. In particular, Catalonia closed last month with 552,974 people registered on the Catalan Public Employment Service's list, which means 18,681 fewer jobseekers in comparison with March 2015, a 3.27% drop. In annual terms, registered unemployment in Catalonia fell by 9.62% (58,848 fewer people), which is the highest percentage decline since May 2000. These figures mean that registered unemployment in Catalonia has fallen for 22 consecutive months. In Spain as a whole, at the end of April 2015 the number of people registered as unemployed stood at 4,333,016, which means 118,923 fewer jobseekers than in March, representing a 2.67%. In annual terms, registered unemployment in Spain dropped by 7.5%, as 351,285 fewer people were registered as looking for a job.

The political parties and the main civil society organisations that support Catalonia's independence from Spain have agreed that the Catalan Parliament will issue a formal declaration to start building a new state and launch a constituent process, which would be put to a citizen vote at a later stage, if they obtain a parliamentary majority in the September elections. They have been holding a series of talks over the past few weeks in order to agree on a road map that sets out the steps to follow in case pro-independence parties obtain an absolute majority in the next Catalan Parliament elections. These elections have been called early and are being presented as a 'de facto' referendum on independence by the parties supporting this option, since they are the only way to hold a legal vote on this issue after years of the Spanish Government's unilateral blocking attitude.