The employed population of the A.C. of the Basque Country as a whole totalled 971,900, 12,200 more than three months earlier, or +1.3% according to Eustat data. As regards gender, the improvement affected both men and women, although the latter saw the best evolution, with 9,300 more in employment than the previous quarter. Employment increased in all three provinces: Bizkaia with 6,500 more net jobs, followed by Gipuzkoa with 4,900 and finally. Álava with 800 more.

Trend of the employed population since 1985. A.C. of the Basque Country. (In thousands)

Source: EUSTAT

The services sector, followed by that of construction, led the net creation of employment over this three-month period

There was a notable increase in the number of people employed in the services sector in relation to the third quarter of 2006, with 10,600 more jobs and in construction, where there were 3,600 more, whereas in agriculture and industry, each sector lost 1,000 net jobs.

The employment rate, the percentage of employed people aged 16 to 64 out of the total number of people within this age bracket, stood at 67.8%, one percentage point higher than three months earlier. For men, this rate was 77.1%, while for women it stood at 58.3%.

By province, the highest employment rate was that of Gipuzkoa with 70.9% and an increase of 1.2 percentage points; it was followed by Álava with 6.4% and a point six per cent increase; Bizkaia had the lowest rate, with 65.5% and showed an increase of point nine per cent.

There were estimated to be 787,000 households in the A.C. of the Basque Country in the fourth quarter of 2006, a third of which had no active member. In over 6 in 10 households, all the active people were employed, 3,300 more than in the previous quarter.

The downward trend of the unemployment rate continued

Labour market data for the A.C. of the Basque Country in the fourth quarter of 2006 showed that the unemployment rate decreased by point two per cent with regard to the previous quarter, falling to 3.4%, 1,900 less people unemployed.

As regards the third quarter of 2006 and as a result of the evolution of the employed and unemployed populations, the activity rate increased by 0.5 percentage points and stood at 55.2% in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Both the female and male unemployment rates descended

The female unemployment rate decreased to 3.9% (0.3 percentage points less) and the male one fell by two tenths of a point, standing at 3.0%. The youth unemployment rate increased by one percentage point, meaning that around 4,800 active young people aged 16 to 24 were affected by unemployment (7.6%).

The number of unemployed women, coming to 16,800, decreased by 800. Similarly, 1,200 men left the ranks of the unemployed in this quarter, leaving a total of 17,400 in this situation.

The unemployment rate of the A.C. of the Basque Country for the fourth quarter of 2006 was over four points below that of the Euro Zone countries. According to EUROSTAT- The Statistics Office of the European Union -, the unemployment rate for this area in November 2006 fell by point three per cent over the quarter to 7.6%. The overall rate for the European Union, including all 25 member countries in 2006, fell to 7.7%.

The number of jobless, which is to people seeking employment, actively making job searches and also available for work, was estimated at 34,300 for the fourth quarter, 1,900 less than three months earlier, By province, the number of jobless in Álava, totalling 4,600, remained stable and put the unemployment rate at 3.1%; in Bizkaia, there were 20,800 people out of work, 2,000 less than three months earlier, although it still had the highest rate (4%), whereas in Gipuzkoa, despite there being 100 more people out of work than three months earlier, the unemployment rate was the lowest of the three provinces (2.6%).

20,400 net jobs were created during the year

The employed population grew by 20,400 over the twelve-month period, 2.1%. There was a 2.2 percentage point increase in the female employment rate and one of 1.1 points for men. The employment rate rose in all three provinces in relation to the fourth quarter of 2005: Bizkaia (2.5 percentage points), Gipuzkoa (0.9) and Álava (0.3).

Over the year, the services sector created 18,000 net jobs, industry 4,500 and the primary sector 1,900. In construction, on the other hand 3,900 jobs were lost.

Over the year, the unemployment rate in the A.C. of the Basque Country fell by 1.5 percentage points

The unemployment rate fell by 1.5 percentage points (from 4.9% to 3.4%) during 2006, meaning that 14,800 people left the ranks of the unemployed in the A.C. of the Basque Country. By province, the unemployment rate decreased over the twelve-month period in Bizkaia (2.7 percentage points less) and Gipuzkoa (0.6 percentage points less), while in Álava it increased by point six per cent.

SURVEY ON THE POPULATION IN RELATION TO ACTIVITY (PRA)

*p.p. = Difference in percentage points

Source: EUSTAT