2023-09-04 09:06:34
Barcelona The end of summer punishes the labor market, especially in Catalonia. The number of Catalan unemployed increased again in August, after the streak of reduction in unemployment, which had chained five months down, was already broken in July. So, last month the total number of unemployed people in Catalonia increased by 7,516 people, 93% of them in the service sector. This brings the number of unemployed up to 338,872, a worsening of 2.3% compared to July, according to data published this Monday by the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy. The increase in the unemployed in the Principality is the most pronounced in the State.
Members of social security in Catalonia
It also leads the destruction of employment (in absolute values) at the end of the summer season: the Catalan labor market has recorded a loss of 60,317 Social Security members compared to the previous month, leaving 3.69 million active workers .
The increase in unemployment has occurred mainly in the demarcation of Barcelona, followed by Girona, Tarragona and Lleida.
338.872
Total number of unemployed in Catalonia
In Spain as a whole, unemployment has increased by 24,826 people, 0.93% more in relation to the previous month, leaving a total of 2.7 million unemployed. It is the lowest monthly increase in a month of August since 2016, according to the ministry’s data.
In fact, August is traditionally a month in which unemployment increases due to the end of the summer and that is why the most damaged sector is that of services, which in Spain as a whole grows by 23,097 unemployed and Catalonia leaves 7,002 unemployed more – of the total of 7,516 unemployed in August -. All in all, the good run of the labor market in recent months leaves the best number of active workers in the history of Spain in a month of August.
Hiring, down
In August, 167,600 contracts were registered in Catalonia, of which 69,528 were indefinite and 98,072 temporary, which represents a year-on-year drop of 40,322 contracts (-19.3%). Compared to the previous month, hiring was down 31.5%, with 77,250 fewer new jobs. In this way, indefinite contracts represented 41.4% of the total registered and temporary contracts, 58.6%.
The second vice-president of the Spanish government and acting Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, attributes the increase in unemployment to the seasonality of the activity. Díaz highlighted that this increase was the lowest in seven years and that the total number of unemployed remains at the lowest level in a month of August since 2008. In fact, in seasonally adjusted terms, unemployment would have fallen in 23,373 people, according to the ministry’s data.
On the contrary, the Pimec employer sees the data with concern. According to the general secretary, Josep Ginesta, “the increase in unemployment in August shows that not only a labor reform changes the seasonality of a country’s economic flows, which condition demand and business activity and, therefore, labor recruitment due to a lower need for labor force”. At the same time, he highlighted the behavior of registered unemployment and affiliation to Social Security in Catalonia, with worse indicators than in the State as a whole, because “the year-on-year reduction is between half and a third of increase in registered unemployment is contributed by Catalonia, which at the same time loses more than 60,000 people with average membership, 53,000 of which from the Barcelona region”.
However, the Government assures that the increase in unemployment in August is “usual” and emphasizes that “it is not a disturbing situation”. This was said by the Secretary of Labor, Enric Vinaixa, who emphasized that they have not detected “a dangerous increase in unemployment; the figures do not indicate this”.
#summer #punishes #Catalonia #leaves #unemployed