Increase in number of jobseekers after dropping for five consecutive months, still reaching new records
Catalonia registered 1,612 new unemployed in July, but overall at lowest level since 2008
The number of people registered as unemployed in Catalonia rose in July after five consecutive months of the figure dropping. While there were 1,612 new jobseekers in July compared to the previous month, the overall number of people in work has again reached a new record.
In July there were 3,753,713 workers in Catalonia, 10,932 new jobs compared to June, a third consecutive all-time high.
However, there was a 0.49% increase in the number of jobseekers between June and July, 331,356 in total, which despite the rise, is still the lowest figure since July 2008. At the time, there were 321,964 unemployed workers.
In Spain, the number of unemployed fell 0.41% compared to June, with 10,968 new workers.
Two ways of calculating unemployment
The figures differ from those from the latest Labor Force Survey (EPA in Spanish), which is published every three months. The variation in the figures can be attributed to the different methods for gathering data.
The labor ministry figures published in this article are based on the number of jobseekers registered with the Employment Service, while the EPA figures are taken from surveying a broad sample of 65,000 households - or some 200,000 individuals - all over Spain.
According to the latest EPA, showing figures for the second quarter of 2023, the unemployment rate stood at 8.44%.
This was the lowest level registered in 15 years, and two percentage points less than the previous quarter, when the unemployment rate stood at 10.37%.
There are 3.65 million people employed and 336,800 out of work in Catalonia, a level not seen since 2008. That is 70,400 fewer people unemployed compared to the first quarter of 2023, a decrease of 17.3%.