Unemployment in Catalonia increased by 13,849 people in October, reaching an historical record

Madrid (ACN).- Unemployment in Catalonia increased by 13,849 people in October and reached 646,306 individuals registered on the lists of the Catalan Public Employment Service (SOC) by the end of the month, according to data released on Monday by the Spanish Employment Ministry. These are the highest figures since the start of this data series in the year 2000. Over the last month, unemployment in Catalonia grew by 2.19%, while a year ago, in October 2011, it grew by 2.43%. However, October 2012 was the third consecutive month with an increase in the number of people registered on the SOC lists. For the whole of Spain, unemployment increased by 128,242 people in October and reached 4,833,521 individuals without a job who were searching for a new one. Regarding geographical distribution, unemployment grew in all the four Catalan provinces. The highest increase was registered in the Province of Lleida, with a 6.38% increase compared to data from a month ago.

Unemployment in Catalonia reached a new record in October, with 646,306 people on the SOC lists. Until Monday, the record was set last February, with 641,948 unemployed people. In fact, between March and July, unemployment levels decreased for five consecutive months. However, in August the positive trend was broken and unemployment rose again. By the end of last July, there were 27,156 less people unemployed than by the end of February. However, the unemployment increase that took place between August and October totally neutralised the positive results from the previous five month period.

Furthermore, over the last 12 months, the Catalan labour market lost 30,748 jobs, which represents a 5% unemployment increase. For the whole of Spain, 472,595 jobs have been destroyed over the last year.

However, despite the negative figures, unemployment increased in October at a slower pace than a year ago. Over the month of October, unemployment in Catalonia increased by 2.19%, while in October 2011 it increased by 2.43%. For the whole of Spain, there is the same trend. Unemployment in Spain increased by 2.73% in October but it grew by 3.17% over October 2011.

More new contracts

In October, 209,010 new contracts were signed in Catalonia. This means that it was the October with the highest number of new contracts since 2008, a month after the Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy. In October 2008, 231,313 new contracts were signed. A year previous to that, in October 2007, when very few people were forecasting the economic meltdown that came, 306,039 new contracts were signed in Catalonia.

All sectors are hit except construction

All the Catalan economic sectors lost jobs in October, except for the construction industry, in which there were 722 fewer unemployed people. The rest of the sectors have experienced an increase in the number of people registered on the SOC lists. In fact, there have never been so many unemployed people in the Catalan agricultural and services sectors. By the end of October there were 406,475 unemployed people within the services sector, 11,940 jobs having been lost over the previous month. The agriculture sector lost 1,929 jobs in October and reached a total of 13,268 jobseekers. In addition, the Catalan industrial sector has lost 895 jobs over the last month, with a total of 96,501 jobseekers, which is a similar figure to the 96,622 jobseekers registered in this sector by the end of January this year. 

Unemployment increase throughout Catalonia

Regarding geographical distribution, unemployment increased in all the four Catalan provinces. In Barcelona Province – in which about two thirds of Catalonia’s population is concentrated – the number of those unemployed increased by 5,838 people in October and reached a total of 482,646 jobseekers at the end of the month, an historical record. The service sector had 4,937 more jobseekers in Barcelona; the industrial sector, 693 more; and agriculture, 538 more. The construction sector had 321 fewer unemployed people. Another positive figure refers to the number of contracts signed, which reached the year high of 161,777 new contracts signed in Barcelona.

In the Province of Tarragona – in southern Catalonia, where the Costa Daurada is located – there were 2,685 more unemployed people at the end of October than a month ago, a 3.82% increase. The total number of jobseekers reached 72,920 individuals in the most southern part of Catalonia. There were 21,664 new contracts signed in Tarragona Province last October, which represents a 10% increase compared to a year ago.

In the Lleida Province – in north-western Catalonia – unemployment increased by 1,887 people over the month of October and had reached 31,480 jobseekers by the end of the month. This represents a 6.38% increase compared to data from a month ago and it represents the highest unemployment increase in Catalonia. However, the total number of unemployed people in Lleida does not represent an historical high, as it does for the entire Catalonia and the Province of Barcelona. Lleida’s record was set in April, with 32,402 jobseekers. The number of new contracts in Lleida increased by 11.12% compared to October 2011, when 8,716 new contracts were signed. In October 2012, there were 9,806 new contracts.

Finally, in the Province of Girona – in north-eastern Catalonia – unemployment increased by 3,439 people, reaching 59,260 jobseekers. This data represents a 6.16% increase compared to a month ago. However, despite the high increase, the figure does not represent an historical high. Girona’s record was set in February, with 61,170 jobseekers registered. As in the rest of Catalan provinces, the number of new contracts signed increased. In October there were 15,763 new contracts, a 14% increase compared to October 2011, when 13,839 new contracts were signed.