Registered unemployment drops by 8% in Catalonia during 2014
At the end of 2014, there were 575,948 people registered with the Catalan Public Employment Service (SOC) as being unemployed, according to figures released this week by the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security. This represents 48,924 fewer jobseekers than were on the register at the end of 2013; a 7.83% drop achieved during the last 12 months. During 2014, registered unemployment dropped by 5.39% in the whole of Spain. There were 4,447,711 people registered as unemployed throughout the country, which represents 253,627 fewer jobseekers than a year ago, the largest reduction in unemployment since 1998.
Barcelona (ACN).- At the end of 2014, there were 575,948 people registered with the Catalan Public Employment Service (SOC) as being unemployed, according to figures released this week by the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security. This represents 48,924 fewer jobseekers than were on the register at the end of 2013; a 7.83% drop achieved during the last 12 months. During 2014, registered unemployment dropped by 5.39% in the whole of Spain. There were 4,447,711 people registered as unemployed throughout the country, which represents 253,627 fewer jobseekers than a year ago, the largest reduction in unemployment since 1998.
In monthly terms, there was a 0.98% reduction in the number of people registered as unemployed in Catalonia. Between November and December, 5,704 people left the SOC lists.
2.9% increase in Catalans contributing to the Social Security scheme
As well as this, the number of people contributing to the Social Security system increased in Catalonia by 2.91% during 2014, a growth of 83,744 individuals. This means that, by the end of the year, there were 2,963,394 people registered in the Social Security system (almost 2.5 million as employees and some 500,000 as self-employed). In monthly terms, it increased by 0.03%, adding 8,387 people to its lists between November and December.
In Spain as a whole, there were 16,775,214 people contributing to the Social Security system; an increase of 417,574 people during the last 12 months, which represents a growth of 2.55%. This is the first positive annual increase since 2007. In monthly terms, it grew by 79,463 workers between November and December, a 0.04% increase.
Number of contracts grows compared to December 2013
In Catalonia, the number of registered work contracts reached 186,014 during December, which means a 5.59% drop (-11,013 contracts) compared to November’s figures, but does represent a 12.14% increase compared to figures from December 2013 (+20,131 new contracts). In Spain overall, there were 1,384,062 new contracts at the end of December 2014, which represents a 7.22% increase (+93,853 new contracts) on figures from a year ago.
7.21% of all the new contracts signed throughout Spain during the last month were permanent, accounting for 99,853 documents. This represents a 19.17% growth on figures from November 2014 (16,061 more contracts). During the entire 2014, 1,350,331 permanent contracts were signed in Spain, which represents an increase of 215,382 documents on the figures from 2013 (a 18.98% growth).
There are also more part-time contracts. Out of the 99,853 new permanent contracts signed throughout Spain in December 2014, 58,235 of them were for full-time jobs and 41,618 were for part-time posts. The former increased by 19.99% (+9,701) compared to December 2013, while the latter grew by 18.04% (+6,360).
Number of people receiving unemployment benefits decreases
In Catalonia, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits has decreased. It stood at 353,631 individuals by the end of November (this type of statistics is always released with a one-month delay). In Spain as a whole, there were 2,462,329 people receiving unemployment benefits, a 12.1% reduction compared to November 2013. 57.88% of all jobseekers were covered by the unemployment protection scheme, while this figure was 61.43% of the total a year ago.