Labour market figures for the third quarter of 2005 in the A.C. of the Basque Country gave the number of people in work as 947,300, 17,100 more than three months ago, an increase of 1.8%, according to Eustat data. Elsewhere, the unemployment rate fell to 5% from the figure of 5.9% registered in the previous quarter, meaning that there were over 9,000 less people out of work

In relation to the second quarter of 2005 and as a result of the evolution of the employed and unemployed populations, the employment rate rose by 0.4 percentage points, coming to 54.7% in the third quarter of 2005.

The youth unemployment rate fell by 3.8 percentage points

The female unemployment rate fell to 5.9% (two percentage points less), while the male rate diminished by point two per cent. The youth unemployment rate fell by almost four points, meaning that unemployment affected 8,100 active young people aged 16 to 24 (10.3%).

The number of unemployed women, which totalled 24,500, fell by 8,200. Among men, 1,100 left the ranks of the unemployed in this quarter, leaving a total of 24,900 jobless. There was also a notable fall for the 25 to 44 age group, with 7,200 less unemployed.

The unemployment rate for the A.C. of the Basque Country in the third quarter of 2005 stood 3.6 percentage points lower than the countries of the Euro Zone. According to EUROSTAT- the European Union Statistics Office-, the unemployment rate in August 2005 in this geographical area remained steady at 8.6%. The overall rate for the European Union, taking all 25 member countries into account, was 8.7%.

The unemployment rate fell in all three provinces

The number of people unemployed, which is to say people actively seeking a job and also available for work came to 49,400 in this third quarter, and fell in all three provinces. In Bizkaia, with a total of 34,400, there was a fall of 5.jobless, and the rate fell to 6.6%. In Gipuzkoa there were 11,500 people out of work, 1,900 less than three months earlier, making the rate 3.5%. In Álava it was estimated that there were 2,000 less people unemployed than there had been three months previously, thus maintaining the most positive rate of the three provinces (2.4%).

The three provinces contributed to the net creation of employment in the third quarter of 2005

The number of people employed in the A.C. of the Basque Country as a whole came to 947,300, 17,100 more than three months earlier. Employment increased in all three provinces: Bizkaia had 8,500 more net jobs, followed by Gipuzkoa with 5,800 and finally, Álava with 3,000 more. As regards gender, the improvement affected both men and women, with the latter enjoying the better evolution as regards employment, with 9,700 more women in work than in the previous quarter.

The services sector created 17,500 net jobs and construction created 3,500, while in industry and in agriculture the number of people in work fell

Compared to the second quarter of 2005, there was a notable rise in the number of people employed in the services sector, with 17,500 more employees, and in construction, with another 3,500. Industry lost 3,200 jobs and the primary sector lost 600.

The employment rate, the percentage of people in work aged 16 to 64 out of the total number of people in this age group, came to 65.8%, 1.3 percentage points higher than three months previously. This rate stood at 76.3% for men, while for women it was only 55.1%.

By province, the highest employment rate was that of Gipuzkoa with 69% and an increase of 1.3 points; it was followed by Álava with 68.7% and a rise of 1.4 per cent; Bizkaia had the lowest rate, with 63.1%, increasing 1.2 percentage points in relation to the second quarter of 2005.

In the third quarter of 2005 there were 761,600 households in the A.C. of the Basque Country, of which almost a third had no active member. The number of households whose active members were all unemployed was 10,700 (1.4% of the total), 1,400 less than in the previous quarter.

Over the last year the services sector created 30,200 net jobs

The employed population grew over the last twelve months by 14,300, or 1.5% more. The male employment rate increased by 1.3 percentage points and the female one by one point. By province, the rates increased in all three provinces: that of Gipuzkoa was the highest (1.3 points), followed by Bizkaia and Álava, both with a percentage point more than they had in the third quarter of 2004.

During the last year, the services sector created 30,200 net jobs. However, industry, the primary sector and construction continued to lose weight.

The unemployment rate in the A.C. of the Basque Country fell 2.6 percentage points over the last year

The unemployment rate in the last year fell 2.6 percentage points (from 7.6% to 5%), meaning that 26,900 people found work in the A.C. of the Basque Country over the twelve-month period.