Unemployment in Catalonia drops by 10% in 2015

There were 515,668 unemployed people in Catalonia at the end of 2015, which represents 60,280 fewer jobseekers than there were at the end of last year. This is the lowest figure since 2008, according to data released by the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security. In December alone, the number of unemployed people in Catalonia decreased by 5,992, which represents a fall of 1.15%. In the whole of Spain, 2015 registered 4,093,508 people without a job, nearly 8% lower than at the end of 2014, which is the highest annual drop in the historical series. More than 1.5 million new contracts were signed in the whole of Spain during 2015, however less than 7% of them were permanent. 

Image of a job centre in Catalonia (by ACN)
Image of a job centre in Catalonia (by ACN) / ACN

ACN

January 5, 2016 02:54 PM

Barcelona (CNA).- The number of unemployed people registered in Catalonia in 2015 reached 2008 levels, according to data released by the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security. There were 515,668 unemployed people in Catalonia at the end of the year, which represents 60,280 fewer jobseekers than there were at the end of 2014. This 10.47% drop is led by the job creation in the services sector. In the whole of Spain, 4,093,508 were registered as unemployed at the end of 2015, nearly 8% less than at the end of 2014. This is the fourth year in a row of decreases in the unemployment rate and 2015 represents the highest annual drop in the historical series. More than 1.5 million new contracts were signed in the whole of Spain during 2015, however less than 7% of them were permanent.   


The highest drop in the unemployment rate was registered in the services sector. 61,336 people got a job in this sector in December. The agricultural sector registered a 1.09% decrease in the unemployment rate.

On the other hand, the construction sector saw a rise in unemployment in December, with more than 15,000 new unemployed people in this sector. Nearly 5,000 lost their job in the industry sector as well.

Number of contracts grows compared to December 2014

The number of work contracts continued to increase in December, following the last months’ trend. The registered figure grew by 15.23% in comparison to December the previous year and for 2015 overall the number of contracts reached 18,576,280, which represents 11% more than in 2014.

Although the number of permanent contracts increased in December by 8% in comparison to the same month in 2014, only 6.76% of work contracts signed were of this kind. The rest of the contracts were training (21,034), temporary full-time jobs (27.2%) and the highest percentage was made up by temporary part-time posts (30.2%). 

More contributors to the Social Security scheme

The number of people contributing to the Social Security System increased in Catalonia by 3.61%, a growth of 106,858 individuals in comparison to the end of 2014. This means that, by the end of 2015, there were 3,070,251 people registered in the Social Security System. In monthly terms, it increased by 0.27%, adding 8,374 people to its lists between November and December.

In Spain as a whole, there were 17,308,400 people contributing to the Social Security System: an increase of 533,186 people during the last 12 months.