“Catalonia continues to be at the forefront in job creation and reducing unemployment,” highlighted the Secretary for Labour, Enric Vinaixa i Bonet, during the assessment of the employment data for the month of March.

Registered unemployment dropped by 1,984 (-0.6%) compared to last month, leaving a total of 344,389 people out of work, 3,912 fewer than a year ago (-1.1%).

“It is the lowest unemployment figure for the month of March in the last sixteen years,” remarked the Secretary for Labour, who noted a reduction of 348 in the number of unemployed people (-0.9%) in the industrial sector.

In terms of employment, this figure increased by 32,548 people (+0.88%), bringing the number of Social Security affiliations to 3,731,081, “the highest ever figure for March for the historical series which began in 2004,” stressed Vinaixa.

Currently, in Catalonia, there are 93,977 more people in employment (+2.58%) compared to March of last year. Vinaixa stressed that “from March 2021 to March 2024, Catalonia has increased employment with 355,000 more affiliations”.

“On this journey embarked upon in 2024, we remain optimistic regarding a reduction in unemployment and an increase in employment, with the March data showing positive trends in both aspects,” remarked the Secretary for Labour.