Catalan unemployment increased by 12,921 people in October and represented the third consecutive month of growth
However, in annual terms, Catalonia registered a fourth consecutive drop in unemployment figures with a 1.93 % decrease compared to October 2012 and 12,474 fewer jobseekers. By the end of October 2013, 633,832 people were registered as unemployed at the offices of the Catalan Public Employment Service (SOC), meaning a 2.08% increase since the month of September, with 12,921 extra people unemployed. These latest figures, which were released by the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security, also indicate a third consecutive month of growth in unemployment. In the whole of Spain, registered unemployment also increased for the third consecutive month.
Barcelona (ACN).- By the end of October, the number of people registered at the offices of the Catalan Public Employment Service ( SOC ) reached 633,832 people, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security. Compared to last year, registered unemployment has decreased for the fourth consecutive month in October, with 12,474 less people on the SOC lists, and a 1.93% drop from October 2012. However, in monthly terms, the figures indicate that 12,921 additional people were registered as unemployed in October 2013, meaning a 2.08 % increase since September. According to these figures, Catalonia has registered its third consecutive month of rising unemployment. In the whole of Spain, the number of unemployed on the public employment serrvices’ lists by the end of October has grown by 87,028 people compared to last September, which means a 1.84 % increase and a third consecutive month of growth in unemployment. Furthermore, in annual terms, unemployment decreased by 0.46% in the whole of Spain, compared to figures from 2012. The Catalan Deputy Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations, Ramon Bonastre, stated the unemployment drop in annual terms was a “good” sign.. He explained he expected “a slow but gradual recovery for job creation” by the first quarter of 2014. Bonastre also stressed that Catalonia’s annual drop in unemployment (1.93%) was well above the Spanish one (0.46%), showing the “net and clear” contribution of Catalonia’s labour market to the Spanish one.
In monthly terms, Catalonia has accumulated three consecutive months of growth in the number of people unemployed, particularly during the months of August, September and October, when the tourist summer season officially came to an end. The rise in registered unemployment this October, with 12,921 extra people, and a 2.08% increase, is slightly lower than the one which occurred in October 2012 (13,849 people and a 2.19% increase) and considerably more so than the increase of October 2011(14,628 people and a 2.43% growth).
In order to find a better month of October than October 2013, one would have to go back to 2010, when the number of unemployed decreased by 772 people. Since 1996 (the year the Spanish Ministry of Employment started releasing monthly unemployment figures), October has traditionally been marked by an increase in the number of people unemployed and it is only in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2010 that unemployment figures decreased in Catalonia. In the whole of Spain, between 2002 and 2013, the month of October has always indicated an increase in the number of people unemployed.
Unemployment decreases in annual terms in the 4 Catalan provinces
In all Catalan provinces unemployment monthly figures have risen while the numbers have decreased since the previous year at the same period. In Barcelona (where two thirds of the Catalans live) the number of registered unemployed people has reached 473,581, amounting to a 1.07 % monthly increase with 5,028 extra people registered. The number of unemployed people has decreased by 9,065 between October 2012 and October 2013, meaning a 1.88 % decrease. More generally, it represents a fourth consecutive monthly drop on last year’ figures.
In the Girona Province (north-eastern Catalonia, where the Costa Brava is located), the number of people registered at the SOC has reached 58,268 unemployed, meaning 2,975 extra people and a 5.38 % increase since last September. In annual terms, unemployment has fallen by 992 people and 1.67 %, thereby accumulating three consecutive months of decrease.
In the Province of Lleida (western Catalonia), 30,265 people registered at the SOC this month, that is to say 2,271 more people than last month and a 8.11 % increase. This percentage is the highest of all four Catalan Provinces. However, the month of October also marked the fifth consecutive month of annual reduction in unemployment figures. In October 2013 there were 1,215 less people registered at the SOC in Lleida, meaning a 3.86 % decrease since October 2012.
Finally, in the Tarragona Province (southern Catalonia, where the Costa Daurada is located), the total number of unemployed people has reached 71,718, meaning a monthly increase of 2,647 people and 3.83 % growth on September figures. However, along with the whole of Catalonia, Tarragona registered its fourth consecutive month of unemployment drop in annual terms. The number of unemployed fell by 1,202 people and 1.65 % since October 2012.
Agriculture and services the most affected sectors
The sectors responsible for the monthly increase in unemployment figures were services and agriculture, with respectively 11,293 and 2,767 extra unemployed people since September. The industrial sector has also registered a slight increase, with 132 additional unemployed people. Construction was the only sector that saw a reduction in the number of unemployed people, with 1,564 fewer jobseekers.
A 7 % increase in the number of contracts
In October this year 223,660 contracts were signed in Catalonia, meaning a 7% increase since October 2012, when only 209,010 contracts were registered. Despite this increase in the number of contracts, and this year’s new legislation seeking to increase permanent contracts, the effect was quite the opposite and temporary contracts gained ground. In October 2013, 89.16 % of the new contracts signed were temporary contracts and 10.84 % permanent ones, while in October 2012 the number of permanent contracts accounted for 12.6% of all contracts.
Only 3 out of 5 unemployed people receiving public money
The figures concerning unemployment benefits and social grants have been dropping constantly for the past few months. While the latest unemployed numbers account for 620,911 unemployed people in Catalonia, the number of people receiving benefits or grants only amounts to 384,674. These figures indicate that 61.95 % of the unemployed receive some sort of public financial assistance, meaning approximately 3 out of 5 people. 32 % of the unemployed, meaning 1 out of 3 people, receive a job-seeking allowance. 38.05% of those registered at the SOC are not receiving any kind of public money, neither unemployment benefits nor social grants.