Catalonia sees best October employment figures since 2007

More people registered out of work compared with September, but employment also slightly up

A woman outside an unemployment office in Barcelona
A woman outside an unemployment office in Barcelona / Maria Alenyà
Catalan News

Catalan News | @catalannews | Barcelona

November 3, 2023 09:37 AM

November 3, 2023 07:35 PM

Catalonia saw slight rises in the number of people registered both employed and unemployed in October compared with the month before. 

The total number of people registered as unemployed, 339,693, is the lowest in any month of October since 2007.

Unemployment rose slightly by 1.27%, with 4,261 more registered jobseekers, according to data published by Spain's labor ministry on Friday.

Meanwhile there were 11,882 more people in employment compared with the month before. 

Compared to 2022, this year there are 8,303 fewer unemployed workers (-2.39%).

End of summer season 

The rise in unemployment in October follows a slight drop in the number of people unemployed in September (-1.02%, with 335,432 unemployed). 

The number of unemployed tends to increase in October because many summer contracts come to an end. The only exceptions to this trend were the last two years, 2021 and 2022. 

The number of people registered as contributing to social security has now passed 3.7 million, after two months on the rise. 

Compared to last year, there are 97,279 more people working in Catalonia, an increase of 2.69%.

 

 

Unemployment up 1.36% in Spain 

Unemployment in Spain rose by 1.36% in October, with 36,936 more people unemployed than in September. 

The total number of unemployed has climbed to 2,759,404, which, like the data for Catalonia, represents the lowest figure for the month of October since 2007. 

Compared to 2022, this year there are 1,55,488 fewer people unemployed (-5.33%). Spain's labor ministry highlighted that this is the least pronounced increase in unemployment for October in the last sixteen years, excluding the pandemic. 

The number of workers registered in Spain in October was 20.81 million workers, a record for the month of October. There are 92,862 more people employed (+0.45%) than in September and 533,871 more than a year ago (+2.63%).