Press Release 18/04/2024

SURVEY ON POPULATION IN RELATION TO ACTIVITY. I/2024

The population in work increased by 1,500 and the unemployment rate stood at 7.9% in the first quarter of 2024 in the Basque Country

Last year, the number of people in work increased by 17,800 and the unemployment rate fell by one percentage point, from 8.9% to 7.9%

Data from the first quarter of 2024 on the labour market in the Basque Country showed 1,500 more people in work and 9,100 more unemployed people than in the previous quarter, according to Eustat data. There were an estimated 84,600 unemployed people and the figure for people in work stood at 980,900 in the first quarter of 2024. The unemployment rate in the Basque Country stood at 7.9%, seven tenths of a percentage point higher than the new revised figure for the fourth quarter, 7.2% (see Methodological Note).. As a result of the evolution in the employed and unemployed population, the activity rate was 56.4% in the first quarter of 2024, up half a percentage point on the previous quarter.

Over the last year, in comparison with the first quarter of 2023, the number of people employed rose by 1.8%, up 17,800. There were 11,500 more people working in the services sector; 6,800 more in industry; and 100 more in the primary sector. There were 600 fewer people working in the construction sector. As regards unemployed people, the unemployment rate fell by one percentage point (from 8.9% to 7.9%), which meant there were 9,400 fewer people out of work in the Basque Country.

By province and compared to the previous quarter, there were 4,500 more people in work in Gipuzkoa and 1,000 more in Álava. However, in Bizkaia there were 4,000 fewer people in work. With regards to the capitals, there were 1,900 more people employed in San Sebastián and 1,500 more in Vitoria-Gasteiz; however, in Bilbao there were 2,500 fewer people employed.

The highest rise in employment was among men (+3,500), whilst there were 2,000 fewer women in work. With regards to nationality, the number of Spanish nationals in work increased by 6,000 (+0.7%), whilst the number of foreign nationals in work fell by 4,500 (-4.7%).

Employment increased in the services sector and the primary sector

The employed population in the Basque Country rose by 4,100 in the services sector (+0.6%) and by 700 in the primary sector (+9%); in contrast, the number of people working in industry fell by 1,200 (-0.6%) and in the construction sector there were 2,000 fewer people employed (-3.6%).

The employment rate, calculated as the percentage of people in work aged 16 to 64 over the total for these ages, fell by 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, standing at 69.9%. This rate remained at 73.2% for men and fell to 66.6% for women.

As regards nationality, the highest employment rate was recorded among Spanish nationals at 71.8%, down 0.2 percentage points in respect of the previous quarter; whereas for foreign nationals it fell by 1.7 points to stand at 55.5%.

By province, Gipuzkoa had the highest employment rate, at 71.9%, an increase of one percentage point compared to the previous quarter. Álava came second with 69.8% and a drop of 0.8 percentage points; and, lastly, in Bizkaia, the employment rate fell by half a percentage point to stand at 68.7%.

In relation to the types of contracts of salaried individuals, the number of people with permanent contracts increased by 10,300 in respect of the previous quarter and, in relation to the previous year, it rose by 31,600 people.

In six out of every ten households all active individuals were employed

In the first quarter of 2024 it was estimated that there were 920,600 households in the Basque Country, of which a third did not have any active individuals, 900 more households than in the previous quarter. In almost six out of every ten households, all of the active individuals were in work, 7,800 fewer families. Furthermore, households where all active individuals were unemployed stood at 29,300, 3,900 more households than in the previous quarter.

The first quarter of 2024 posted an unemployment rate of 7.9%

The unemployed population in the Basque Country, that is, people who are available for work, actively making enquiries and seeking employment, was estimated to be 84,600 in the first quarter of the year. The number of unemployed women, 41,800 individuals, increased by 6,400, whilst the number of unemployed men rose by 2,600, reaching a total of 42,800 for the quarter.

The data for the first quarter of 2024 reveals an unemployment rate of 7.9%, 0.7 percentage points higher than the previous quarter. The unemployment rate for women rose by 1.2 percentage points to 8.2%, and the unemployment rate for men stood at 7.7% (+0.4 percentage points).

With regards to nationality, the unemployed population figure increased among Spanish nationals by 4,900, to stand at 58,300. Among foreign nationals it increased by 4,100, to 26,200 people out of work.

By province, in Bizkaia, the number of unemployed people increased by 5,800 to stand at 49,800, and the unemployment rate rose by 1.1 percentage points, standing at 9.1%. In Gipuzkoa, with 22,100 people out of work, the number of unemployed people rose by 2,900 and the unemployment rate increased by 0.7 percentage points to 6.3%. In Álava, the number of unemployed people increased by 300 to stand at 12,600 and the unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points, standing at 7.8%.

As regards the capitals, there were 1,700 more people unemployed in Bilbao and 1,100 more in San Sebastián, compared to the previous quarter. However, there were 500 fewer people unemployed in Vitoria-Gasteiz

According to EUROSTAT, the Statistical Office of the European Union, in February 2024 the deseasonalised unemployment rate of the European Union as a whole stood at 6% and that of Spain was 11.5%.

97.4% of average registered workers were in work, according to ILO criteria.

It is calculated that there were 938,100 registered workers for the quarter on average in the Basque Country, i.e. the number of individuals resident in the Basque Country who were registered for Social Security, weighted by the number of days worked in the quarter. Of those, the PRA estimates that 97.4% were employed, a total of 914,100 individuals, according to criteria from the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Amongst those employed according to ILO criteria in the PRA, 39,600 people (4%) were not registered in the Social Security system, because they belonged to public mutual societies for civil servants, or because they were in other situations.

38.8% of unemployed people were not registered as being unemployed

It is estimated that there was a quarterly average of 93,800 unemployed people registered with Lanbide, i.e. people residing in the Basque Country who were registered on Lanbide at the time of the survey in any one of the categories designated for registered unemployment. Of those, 51.8% were unemployed according to the ILO definition (48,600 people). 38.8% of unemployed people according to the ILO definition in the PRA were not registered as unemployed with Lanbide (32,800 people), even though they may have been registered under other categories of job seeker.

Methodological note:

As in the first quarter of every year, Eustat has incorporated newly available population data, which has meant revising the data from 2022, which are made definitive, and from 2023, with the population update obtained on 1 January this year. This has resulted in changes to the data for every quarter. For example, the unemployment rate for the fourth quarter of 2023, which was 7%, according to the provisional data, is now 7.2% following the revision.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel.: 945 01 75 62