According to the latest EPA (Enquesta de Població Activa), a survey by Spain’s National Institute of Statistics on the economically active population, 35,800 net jobs were added to the Catalan economy in the third quarter of 2015. The recent data also reveals that there are currently 66,600 fewer unemployed Catalans in comparison to the same quarter of the previous year. Furthermore, unemployment rate has fallen to 17.5% (-1.6%), resulting in the lowest drop since 2005.

 

The Minister for Business and Labour, Felip Puig, asserted that Catalonia “is winning the battle against unemployment”. In this regard, Puig explained that “in 2014 we said that we were beginning to win [the battle] and now, in 2015, we are winning it and will continue to work to reduce the number of unemployed”.

 

Puig described this trend in the Catalan economy as “positive and sustained” and noted that the latest EPA figures “consolidate” the inter-annual growth between the third quarter of 2014 and 2015.

 

In this regard, the Minster for Business and Labour stressed that the most recent figures, such as the 36,100 new net jobs created in the last year and unemployment rate being at 17.5% - the lowest in Q3 since 2010 - “allow us to be optimistic” about the economic outlook in Catalonia. Puig also highlighted the positive growth seen in the industrial sector with some 12,600 jobs created in the last year (+2.2%). According to Puig, the recent data demonstrates that Catalan industry is “a factor of confidence […] which is growing firmly” across the territory.

 

Minister Puig also highlighted the positive employment figures among youths between the ages of 16 and 29. “I want to believe the Youth Guarantee Programme is generating its effect”, stated Puig. In this respect, despite the 185,300 currently unemployed youths in Catalonia there has been a -11.1% drop (23,200 youths) in the unemployment rate for this age group in relation to 2014.  

 

According to the most recent EPA survey, in the third quarter of 2015 Catalonia registered a -1.6% drop in unemployment, resulting in 66,600 fewer unemployed Catalans across the territory in relation to the previous year. By gender, the results indicate that there are 31,700 fewer unemployed men and 34,900 fewer unemployed women than there were in 2014.

 

This drop in the unemployment rate leaves the total number of unemployed Catalans at 656,600 (16.7% men and 18.4% women), the lowest figure since 2010. Additionally, compared to the same period of the previous year, Catalonia’s third quarter registered a drop in unemployment of 66,500 people (47,700 men and 18,700 women).

 

Furthermore, 35,800 net jobs were created in the third quarter of 2015, resulting in the Catalan labour force now consisting of 3,110,900 people (1,663,000 men and 1,447,900 women) and an activity rate (EAR) of 62.2%. Additionally, Catalonia’s employed population has increased by 66,500 people in the last twelve months with employment rate now standing at 65% (69.6% in men and 60.4% in women). In fact, as it stands Catalonia is the territory with the highest number of people employed in the entire Spanish state (3,110,900).