Press release 21/04/2010
The employed population fell by 0.9% and the unemployment rate reached 8.9% in the first quarter of 2010 in the Basque Country
8,600 net jobs were lost in this quarter
Labour market data in the Basque Country for the first quarter of 2010 revealed that the number of people in work stood at 942,600, which was a net drop of 8,600 compared to the previous quarter (-0.9%), according to Eustat data. On the other hand, the unemployment rate stood at 8.9%, 0.2 points up on the fourth quarter of 2009.
As a result of the evolution of the employed and unemployed population, the activity rate was 55.5% for first quarter of 2010, 0.4 percentage points lower than the previous quarter.
As regards gender, this drop in number of people employed particularly affected men, with 7,700 fewer employed than in the previous quarter, while the number of women employed fell by 900. Employment fell in the three provinces: Gipuzkoa was in first place with 5,700 fewer net jobs, followed by Bizkaia with 2,800 and, finally, Álava where jobs were down by 100.
Jobs were lost in industry, construction and agriculture, while they were recovered in the service sector
Construction lost 5,600 net jobs, followed by industry with 3,700 fewer, and finally, 400 jobs were lost in the agricultural sector. However, 1,100 net jobs were gained in the service sector.
The employment rate, the percentage of employed people aged 16 to 64 out of the total number of people within that age range, stood at 64.6%, 0.6 percentage points down on the previous quarter This rate came to 71% among men, while it stood at 58.1% for women.
By province, the highest employment rate was in Gipuzkoa with 66.2%, which was down one point on the previous quarter, followed by Álava with 65.1%, down four percentage points less. Finally, Bizkaia had the lowest rate (63.5%) and had fallen by half a point over the last quarter.
The number of employed workers on an indefinite contract fell by 10,500 and stood at 614,300, while the employees with temporary contracts (including those without contracts) was up by 2,100 to a total of 164,000.
In first quarter of 2010, there was estimated to be around 834,700 households in Basque Country (6,600 down on the previous quarter), of which almost a third had no working member. In almost six out of ten households, all the working-age people were employed, which meant 3.200 fewer families than in the previous quarter. In addition, households whose working-age members were all unemployed came to 27,900 (3.3% of the total).
The unemployment rate rose from 8.7% to 8.9%
The number of people out of work, which is to say people who were actively seeking work and were furthermore available for work, was estimated to be 91,800 for the fourth quarter of the year, 1,400 more than in the previous quarter. The number of unemployed men, in total 52,200 people, increased by 1,000 and the number of unemployed women rose by 400 in the fourth quarter, up to a total of 39,600.
Data for the first quarter of 2010 showed that the unemployment rate stood at 8.9%, 0.2 percentage points up on the previous quarter. The male unemployment rate rose to 9.1% (0.31 percentage points up) and the female one tenth of a point, up to 8.6%.. The youth unemployment rate continued to be the highest at 24.8%, with unemployment affecting 13,700 young job seekers aged between 16 to 24.
By provinces, the greatest increase in the number of unemployed was in Bizkaia (up by 1,800 people) and the unemployment rate stood at 9.5%. In Álava, unemployment rose by 1,700 to 18,100 unemployed and the unemployment rate stood at 11.2%. However, the unemployment rate fell by 2,100 people in Gipuzkoa with respect to the previous quarter and it continued to have the lowest unemployment rate (6.6%).
According to EUROSTAT - Statistical Office of the European Union-, the unemployment rate for the EU-27 as a whole in February 2010 was 9.6% and 19% for Spain.
During the last year, 11,800 people joined the ranks of the unemployed in the Basque Country
The employed population fell by 14,300 people (-1.5%) in the first quarter of 2009. This decrease was mainly among men, with 12,200 fewer jobs, while 2,000 women joined the ranks of the unemployed.
The unemployment rate increased by 1.2 percentage points (from 7.7% to 8.9%) over the last year, which means that 11,800 more people lost their jobs in the Basque Country compared to figures for the first quarter of 2009. By provinces, the unemployment rate increased by 1.6 percentage points in Álava and Bizkia, and one tenth of a point in Gipuzkoa over the last twelve months.
For further information:
Basque Statistics Office
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Tlf:+34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.es
Contact: MªJosé Santamaría Gallardo
Tel:+34-945-01 75 08 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01
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