Catalonia sets new employment record with 3.88m workers

Catalonia's job market reached a new high in May thanks to a surge in temporary hiring ahead of the summer tourism season.

The number of workers affiliated with Social Security rose by nearly 40,000 in May, reaching 3.88 million, according to figures released on Tuesday by Spain’s Social Security Ministry.

The unemployment rate also reached a record low, dropping by over 6,000 to a total of 319,500 job seekers, which is the lowest figure for May since 2008.

Employment increased in all regions of Catalonia, especially in areas experiencing exponential tourism growth in the summer.

Unemployment fell most notably in tourism-related sectors. Nearly 70% of job seekers who found employment did so in the services sector.

Spain also set record figures

Spain as a whole also set a new employment record, reaching 21.8 million workers.

Among the regions, Catalonia had the most Social Security-affiliated workers, followed by Madrid with 3.8 million and Andalusia with 3.5 million.

However, the autonomous community with the highest increase was the Balearic Islands, which is highly reliant on tourism, with an almost 9% increase in employment.

Government celebrates 'historic' figures

Spain's Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz celebrated the "historic" figures and highlighted the reduction in youth unemployment.

"Youth unemployment is the lowest it has been in recorded history. The figures we were accustomed to seeing, with 56% of young people unemployed, are now a thing of the past," she said.

Díaz also celebrated the reduction of unemployment among women to the lowest level since 2008 and the fact that nearly half of the new contracts signed in May are fixed-term.