Spain Sees Lowest Number of Unemployed In 13 Years
Spain News
Published: 28 October 2021 15:28 CET
Spain has recorded its highest number of people in work for 13 years, as new data from the government shows that the unemployment rate has fallen to under 14 per cent in the third quarter of 2021. It does, however, still remain above the recorded rate of 13.78 per cent for the fourth quarter of 2019, before the Covid pandemic hit.
According to the Labor Force Survey (EPA) that the National Institute of Statistics (INE) published this morning, the number of unemployed people actually fell by 3.6 per cent compared to the preceding three months. That amounts to 127,100 people back in work.
The number of people back in work in Spain has actually surpassed 20 million for the first time since the financial crisis back in 2008. This is due to the 359,300 jobs that were created in the summer months of 2021, 1.8 per cent more than in the previous quarter.
So far this year, the number of people back in work has increased by 854,100, of which 359,300 joined the market in the third quarter.
In accordance to age, this year unemployment levels amongst those under the age of 55 dropped, in particular in the 25 to 54 year age group where it decreased by 326,100 people.
In addition to that, more than a third of those registered as employed during that third quarter, 132,440 were young people aged between 20 and 24 years.
The areas where most jobs were created this year are the service sector with 739,100, construction with 44,300, industry with 40,400 and agriculture with 30,400.
The stats for people employed in the private sector stand at 87 per cent, with the remaining 13 per cent in the public sector.
Also in regard to the self-employed, the accumulated growth up to the third quarter of this year stands at 38,700.
Previous to the pandemic which hit in spring 2020, Spain was the second-most popular holiday destination and the tourism sector accounted for roughly 12 per cent of the Spanish economy. The government had high hopes that this year they would attract about 45 million tourists, which was approximately half the figure for visitors in 2019.
Despite the labour market's strong recovery, which is returning to pre-pandemic levels, it is still evident that the main route for job creation is with temporary contracts. Of the 800,000 newly employed that have so far registered this year, 63 per cent of them were on temporary contracts which is currently the main avenue of job creation.
The development in employment is also noticeable amongst Spanish households, where all of the residents are in employment. This figure fell by 35,800 during the third quarter of this year. At present, 1.1 million Spanish households are in this position, which constitutes 5.9 per cent of the total amount.
The number of people who are working from home has also started to fall as workers return to the workplace due to the lifting of restrictions. In the third quarter, just 8% of people were working from home, down 1.4% on the previous quarter.
Source
https://www.thelocal.es/20211028/spain-has-20-million-people-employed-for-the-first-time-since-2008/
https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/4870979/0/el-paro-se-redujo-en-un-3-6-en-el-tercer-trimestre-y-2021-acumula-ya-300-000-desempleados-menos/
