Unemployment in Catalonia drops by 6,199 in May

Madrid (ACN).- Unemployment is one of Catalonia’s biggest problems, as well as in the rest of Spain. However, last May unemployment experienced a 1.03% decrease in Catalonia, according to data released this Thursday by the Spanish Ministry of Labour. At the end of the month, there were 6,199 fewer people registered as unemployed, which totalled 595,342. With this drop, unemployment is now under the psychological limit of 600,000 people. Nevertheless, if last May’s data is compared to the unemployment figures from May 2010, the news is not as good. In the last 12 months, unemployment increased by 3.59%, with 20,606 more people registered in the Catalan Public Employment Service offices. At the end of May 2010, there were 574,736 unemployed people in Catalonia. In Spain as a whole at the end of May 2011, unemployment was set at 4,189,659 people, 79,701 fewer people than a month earlier. However, as in Catalonia, compared to 12 months ago, unemployment increased by 3.04%.

Unemployment drops in all sectors

All sectors of the Catalan economy experienced unemployment reductions. The services industry led the fall, with 2,159 less people unemployed. The industrial sector also experienced an important reduction, with 1,906 less people unemployed. Even the construction sector experienced good results, with 1,258 fewer people unemployed. Agriculture also reduced unemployment, with 779 less people registered, especially in Lleida.

Good numbers everywhere in Catalonia

Regarding the four provinces in Catalonia, unemployed decreased everywhere. The most important drop in relative terms has taken place in Lleida, in particular thanks to seasonal jobs in agriculture, but also thanks to other sectors. There were 730 fewer people registered, 2.46% less than at the end of last April. Lleida had at the end of May, 28,922 unemployed people registered. Compared to May 2010, there are 7.58% more people unemployed in this province.

Girona was the second most successful province reducing unemployment in relative terms, with a 1.99% drop compared to the previous month. At the end of May there were 53,905 unemployed people in Girona, 1,092 less than in April. Services was the most dynamic industry creating new jobs, followed by industry. Compared to 12 months ago, unemployment increased 1.94%, with 1,026 more people.

Barcelona’s province was third in relative terms but the first one in absolute numbers, the expected ranking considering Barcelona’s size. The industrial and the services sectors led the positive numbers with a reduction of 1,523 and 1,527 people respectively. At the end of May there were 3,938 less people unemployed, which means a 0.88% drop compared to April. In total there were 445,923 unemployed people in Barcelona. Compared to last year’s figures, unemployment increased in Barcelona province by 3.35%.

Finally, Tarragona was the province in Catalonia where unemployment decreased the least, both in relative and absolute terms. Agriculture led job creation, followed closely by the industrial sector. At the end of last month there were 439 fewer people registered in the Catalan Public Employment Service’s lists in this province, which represented a 0.65% drop. In total, May ended with 66,592 people unemployed; 3,070 more people than 12 months ago, which means a 4.83% increase.

The highest job contract rate in the last eight months

Last May was a good month regarding job contracts. In Catalonia, 195,113 contracts were signed, which represented a 21.93% increase regarding April figures (35.093 more contracts). This the highest increase since last September, when job contracts increased by 42.74% in just one month. Compared to May 2010, the evolution is also positive, with 10,928 more contracts, a 5.93% increase. From all the contracts signed in May, 89% were temporary (173,588), while only 11% are fix-term (21.535).

For Spain as a whole, there were almost 1.3 million new contracts signed in May. This means 221,868 more contracts compared to April figures, a 20.79% increase. Compared to May 2010, 106,814 more contracts were signed last month, a 9.04% increase. Looking at the type of contracts, 92% were temporary (1,285,737), while only 8% were fix-term (103,176).

Unemployment also drops among immigrant people

In Catalonia, at the end of May, there were 136,271 immigrant people registered as unemployed, 2,162 less people than in April. This means that from the total figures, 35% of people who deregistered from the unemployment lists are immigrants. Compared to 12 months ago, unemployment among immigrants increased by 5.39%. From the foreign unemployed, 81.6% come from outside the European Union (111,189 people).

In Spain as a whole, unemployment also dropped in May among immigrants by 17,630 individuals, representing a 2.79% decrease compared to April numbers. In total there were 613,547 immigrants registered in the Spanish unemployment lists. Compared to May 2010, unemployment among this groups of society increased by 2.79%, 16,661 more people in absolute terms. From all immigrants registered as unemployed in Spain, 68.45% come from outside the EU; 420,000 people come from outside the EU and 192,348 from European member states.