Unemployment rate in Catalonia reached 22.56% at the end of September

Unemployment increased over the third quarter of the year in Catalonia, with 18,800 more people being added to the lists of the Catalan Public Employment Service. By the end of September there were 840,000 people without a job and looking for a new one, 98,400 more jobseekers than a year ago, according to the latest Active Population Survey (EPA), published by the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE). In the whole of Spain, the unemployment rate reached 25.02% at the end of September, with 85,000 more jobseekers registered than three months ago. According to the EPA, Spain has reached an historical high of unemployed people with 5,778,100 individuals recorded.

CNA

October 26, 2012 10:47 PM

Madrid (ACN).- Unemployment increased in Catalonia by 18,800 people over the third quarter of 2012 and reached an unemployment rate of 22.56%, according to the latest Active Population Survey (EPA), published on Friday by the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE). The number of people currently unemployed and looking for a new job reached 840,000 individuals in Catalonia by the end of September, which represents an increase of 98,400 jobseekers compared to a year ago. In the whole of Spain, the unemployment rate reached 25.02% at the end of September, with 85,000 more jobseekers registered than three months ago. According to the EPA, Spain has reached an historical high of unemployed people with 5,778,100 individuals recorded.


According to the EPA survey, the number of employed people in Catalonia fell over the third quarter of the year. By the end of last September, the Catalan economy had 2,884,500 employed people. This represents 36,300 less people than by the end of June and 192,100 less individuals than in September 2011. At a Spanish level, the number of people working dropped to 17.3 million, 96,900 less than three months ago and 835,900 less than a year ago.

Since the financial and economic crisis started, the number of jobs has  decreased over the third quarter of the year, except in 2010, when by the end of September there were 69,900 more people with a job than there were 3 months ago. Last year, job losses over the third quarter were more severe than this year, with a decrease of 146,800 jobs. In addition, between July and September 2012, the unemployment rate increased by 85,000 people, while in the same period in 2011, it had grown by 144,700 jobseekers.

Unemployment affects women the most

Regarding genre, unemployment in Spain increased by 9,500 men and 75,500 women over the third quarter of 2012. The male unemployment rate reached 24.68% and the female unemployment rate reached 25.41% by the end of September. This means that the unemployment structure has remained quite similar regarding genre distribution since 2008.

Looking at nationalities, unemployment increased by 136,000 people among Spanish citizens over the third quarter of the year. In parallel, it dropped by 51,000 people among foreign nationals. However, the unemployment rate among foreigners was 34.84%, 11.5 percentage points higher than among Spanish nationals (23.32%).

Unemployment drops in the construction, service and industry sectors

Unemployment dropped in the construction sector over the third quarter, with 35,900 fewer jobseekers than three months ago. It also decreased in the services sector (-28,100 jobseekers) and the industrial sector (-11,100 jobseekers). However, unemployment increased in the agricultural sector, with 17,600 more people. In the last 12 months all the sectors have seen their unemployment figures increase, except the construction sector with 49,700 fewer jobseekers in Spain than a year ago.

In addition, the number of people who lost their job more than a year ago also increased by 83,300 more individuals. Over the last 12 months, their number has increased by 458,800 people. The number of people looking for a job for the first time also increased, with 59,100 more jobseekers.

More than 1.7 million homes in Spain with all inhabitants unemployed

The number of homes in Spain with all their active members unemployed remained quite constant over the last three months, reaching 1,737,900. However, the number of homes with all their active members working decreased by 58,800, reaching 8,521,700 homes by the end of September. Compared to the situation from 12 months ago, the homes with all their active members unemployed increased by 312,700. Furthermore, those homes with all their active members with a job decreased by 536,700.

Unemployment increases in Andalusia, Valencia and Murcia

Unemployment decreased by 15,100 people in the Madrid Region, by 11,900 in Galicia, and by 9,600 in Castilla-la-Mancha. However, it increased by 61,300 jobseekers in Andalusia, 26,500 in the Valencian Community (also called Valencian Country), and by 20,600 in the Region of Murcia. Navarra and the Basque Country, with their specific fiscal agreement, have an unemployment rate of around 15%, while Andalusia, Canarias and Extremadura have an unemployment rate above 32%.