Unemployment sees second-best September in 12 years
The total number of people out of work is down over 7,000 from this time last year
Unemployment in Catalonia rose by 1,205 people for the month of September. Such a rise is by no means alarming - for the last 12 years unemployment has increased in September as tourism season comes to an end.
The only exception to this however was 2018, when unemployment saw a 0.1% decrease from the month of August. So, it does represent an increase on last year.
Catalan labor minister Chakir el Homrani has highlighted the positive indications of the figures - he attributes the “second best September in 10 years” to “the smaller impact of the end of summer every year” due to a “less seasonalized economy.”
The bigger picture compared to last year echoes the positive signs. The current number of unemployed people in Catalonia is 372,623, a drop of 7,721 compared to this stage last year, when rates were over 380,000.
Spain also saw a small rise of 0.45% for the month. Despite an increase with last year, where unemployment saw a sharp decrease of 122,798 people, Spain still recorded the lowest post-September figures since 2008, at 3,079,711 people.