catalan labour market

The number of people registered as unemployed at the Catalan Public Employment Service (SOC) was reduced by 0.17% in March, compared to data from February. The total number of unemployed people in Catalonia registered at the SOC was 664,050 by the end of March, 1,126 fewer than in the previous month. However, this is 25,083 more people than a year ago. In the whole of Spain, the number of unemployed people decreased by 4,979 individuals last month. However, there are still more than 5 million people officially registered as unemployed in Spain. At the end of March there were 284,376 more people registered as unemployed than were registered a year ago, which is an increase of 5.99%.

The number of people unemployed and registered as such by the end of February at the Catalan Public Employment Service (SOC) increased by 3,359 people compared to the January figures. This is the lowest unemployment increase registered in the month of February in the last six years. In total, there were 661,176 people in Catalonia who were without a job and were looking for a new one. This sets a new historical record, with 23,228 more people unemployed than a year ago, representing a 3.62% increase. In the whole of Spain, unemployment increased by 59,444 people in February and for the first time the number of people officially registered as jobseekers topped 5 million individuals. Within the last 12 months, unemployment in Spain increased by 328,124 individuals, 6.96% more than those registered in February 2012.

The number of unemployed people had reached 885,000 individuals by the end of 2012, a record high, with 110,000 more jobseekers than a year ago. This means that Catalonia’s unemployment rate increased from 20.5% to 23.9% in the last twelve months, breaking the previous record of 22.8% from the third quarter of 1985. In the whole of Spain, unemployment reached a rate of 26%, while a year ago it was 22.85%. It increased by 13.1% over the last twelve months, adding 691,700 more jobseekers to the list. Spain reached a historical high of 5.97 million people being unemployed.

646,306 people were unemployed in Catalonia at the end of October. This is the highest figure since the start of this data series in the year 2000. Over the last month, unemployment in Catalonia grew by 2.19%, while a year ago, in October 2011, it grew by 2.43%. However, October 2012 was the third consecutive month with an increase in the number of people registered on the SOC lists. For the whole of Spain, unemployment increased by 128,242 people in October and reached 4,833,521 individuals without a job who were searching for a new one. Regarding geographical distribution, unemployment increased in all of the four Catalan provinces.

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.

The number of unemployed people increased in Catalonia over the month of August, ending a positive trend of five consecutive months of drops. However, August is traditionally a month with an increase in unemployment, and this August’s has been the lowest increase since 2006.

The trade union UGT has calculated that 478,969 jobs have been destroyed in Catalonia between the June 2007 and June 2012. Furthermore, the union fears a “layoff avalanche” next autumn in the public sector.

The numbers of foreign workers contributing to Social Security in Catalonia reached 400,075 people at the end of July. This figure represents a 2.11% increase compared to a month ago. Seasonal work related to tourism and fruit harvesting caused the number of non-EU workers increase by more than 8,000 people over July.

There were 630,932 people registered as unemployed with the Catalan Public Employment Service. It is the third consecutive month with an unemployment drop. In Spain, unemployment decreased by 30,113 in May, leaving the total number of people without a job and looking for a new position at 4,714,122. In absolute terms, Catalonia is among the Autonomous Communities where unemployment decreased the most in May.

It is the first time since 2007 that unemployment has dropped in the month of March. In total, at the end of last month there were 638,247 people registered as unemployed in Catalonia. The number of unemployed people decreased throughout Catalonia, especially in Girona and Tarragona provinces. However, in Spain, unemployment increased by 38,769 people, reaching a total figure of 4,750,867 jobseekers.

Representatives from the Quebec Government have organised sessions to advertise job possibilities in their region. They are mainly looking for workers with technical skills, mainly in the sector of civil engineering, healthcare, and IT. The Catalan Government reached an agreement with Quebec to strengthen the professional mobility of Catalan workers. The participation of Catalan companies in the plans for economic development of the Quebecois Government is also promoted.

The plan has a €420 million euro budget for 2012 and aims to foster quality education by changing the current system based on subsidising training courses offered by job-placement organisations and municipalities for another model based on framework contracts and grouping the actors involved. The Catalan Deputy Minister for Employment and Labour Relations explained that the new plan would include specific policies aimed at young people, the disadvantaged, as well as for the sectors and territories hardest hit by the economic crisis.

At the end of last year there were 775,400 people registered as unemployed in Catalonia. The Catalan labour market lost 126,700 jobs over the year, which represents a 4% drop in the percentage of people in employment. In Spain as a whole, the unemployment rate reached 22.85%, with 5.273 million people unemployed.

At the end of 2011 there were 614,244 people registered as unemployed in Catalonia, 9.17% more than a year ago. However, unemployment dropped in December by 1,425 people, after it stabilised in November, leaving September and October as the worst months of the year. In stark contrast to Catalonia, the rest of Spain experienced an increase in unemployment in December and 2011 ended with 4,422,359 people signing on the register, 7.86% more than at the end of 2010.

With a marginal increase of 111 people, unemployment stabilised last month. The Catalan Government believes the stagnation in the unemployment figures corresponds to the first effects of its action plan launched at the end of October. In Spain, unemployment increased by 59,536 people at the end of November. The latest data set a new historical record for unemployment in both Catalonia and Spain.