Unemployment falls by 15,918 in May, fourth consecutive month of decline
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.
Barcelona (CNA).- The number of people registered on the unemployment lists in Catalonia in May stood at 470,205 people, 15,918 fewer than last month, according to the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security. With this decline, Catalonia has now registered four consecutive months of declining unemployment and the number of unemployed is situated in numbers not seen since January 2009, over seven years ago, before the economic crisis. In annual terms, the number of unemployment fell by 61,694 people, and 35 consecutive months of annual decreases have now been recorded. In addition, this decrease of 61,694 people, 11.6% less in a year, represents the largest drop ever recorded in absolute numbers since the beginning of the historical series in 1996. All sectors of economic activity saw a drop in unemployment, with the services sector showing the most significant decline. In Spain as a whole, May 2016 saw 3,891,403 people registered, meaning 119,768 fewer people unemployed, or 2.99% less than in April; in the country overall, there has been a 7.68% decline in annual terms.
Unemployment stood at 470,205 in Catalonia at the end of May 2016, a figure that has not been seen since January 2009, when the number of people on the lists of the Employment Service of Catalonia (SOC) was registered as 455,757. In percentages, unemployment has fallen 3.27% compared with April of this year and 11.6% compared with May of last year.
In the whole of Spain, the number of unemployed people stood at 3,891,403 people, meaning 119,768 fewer people unemployed, or 2.99% less than in April. With these figures, unemployment has now fallen below 4,000,000 people for the first time since August 2010, according to data provided by the Ministry of Labour.
The same data from the Ministry of Labour indicates that the decline in unemployment in May is the largest ever recorded for this month in the statistical series, which began in 1996.
In annual terms, unemployment has declined by 323,628 people, 7.68% less than at the same time last year, while the percentage of unemployment declined by 2.99% in monthly terms, both of which represent percentages that are lower than those recorded in Catalonia.
A decline in unemployment in all sectors
The drop in unemployment was recorded in all sectors of economic activity. The services sector saw the most significant decline in unemployment, with 10,943 people less. After the services sector, those sectors which helped to slim down the SOC lists in May the most were the construction and industry sectors, with reductions in unemployment of 1,700 and 1,658 people respectively.
The agriculture sector saw 1,456 fewer people unemployed in May, a reduction that, despite being important, is still not as significant as that recorded in May last year, when 1,863 people were removed from the SOC unemployment lists.
This historical series from the Ministry of Employment began in 1996 and indicates that May has always been a month when unemployment has fallen, with the exception of 2008 and 2001, when unemployment rose.
Contracts and coverage benefits
The number of contracts registered in Catalonia in May stood at 260,571 units, which represents 13.99% more than in May of 2015. Of the contracts signed in Catalonia, 32,491 were permanent, an increase of 22.94% compared with the same month last year, and 228,080 were temporary, an increase of 12.82%.
Despite the labour reform of 2012, which had the objective of reducing the temporality of the labour market (as temporary contracts accounted for 87.53% of the total number of contracts made in May of that year), in May of 2016 they constituted 88.44% of the total.
Regarding the coverage of benefits for the unemployed, the Ministry of Labour does the calculations in relation to April, a month before the unemployment data for May. In Catalonia, in April, only 263,086 people received some kind of financial benefit (contributory benefit or income or active insertion programmes), representing a coverage of 54.12%. This percentage indicates that nearly half of those unemployed do not receive any financial benefit.
The number of beneficiaries of contributory benefits in April was 117,440 people, 24.16% of total unemployed or the equivalent of every one in four unemployed.