Press Release 20/04/2009

POPULATION IN RELATION TO ACTIVITY SURVEY (PRA) 1st QUARTER 2009

The employed population fell by 2.2% and the unemployment rate rose to 7.7% in the first quarter of 2009 in the Basque Country

Last year, 37,200 net jobs were lost and the unemployment rate rose by 4.3 percentage points

Labour market data in the Basque Country for the first quarter of 2009 showed that the number of people in work stood at 934,300, which was a net loss of 21,500 jobs, down 2.2%, compared to the previous quarter, according to Eustat data. On the other hand, the unemployment rate rose by 7.7%, 3.1 points up on the previous quarter.

As a result of the evolution of the employed and unemployed population, the activity rate fell to 55.4% in the first quarter of 2009.

As regards gender, this decrease particularly affected men, with 15,400 fewer employed than in the previous quarter, while the number of women employed fell by only 6,100. Employment fell in the three provinces: Gipuzkoa with 9,900 fewer net jobs, followed by Bizkaia with 6,600 and, finally, Álava where jobs were down by 4,900.

All sectors are affected by job losses

There were job losses in all sectors: Industry lost 12,500 net jobs, construction 5,700, agriculture 2,900 and 300 jobs were lost 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 bracket, stood at 65.4%, down by 1.6 percentage points on three months earlier. This rate came to 72.6% among men, while it stood at 58.1% for women

By province, the highest employment rate was in Gipuzkoa with 67%, which was down by 2.5 points on the previous quarter , followed by Álava with 66.2% and down by 2.1 percentage points. Bizkaia had the lowest rate, with 64.2%, and was one point down on the previous quarter.

The number of employed workers on an indefinite contract fell by 3,400 and stood at 604,300 and the employees with temporary contracts (including those without contracts) was down by 12,300 to a total of 168,900.

The Basque Country is estimated to have around 825,200 households, of which almost a third has no working member. In almost six out of ten households, all the working-age people were employed, which meant 20,900 fewer families than in the previous quarter. In addition, households whose working-age members were all unemployed came to 21,500 (2.6% of the total), 8,400 more than in the previous quarter.



Trend of the employed population from 1985. Basque Country (In thousands)

Source: Eustat

The unemployment rate rose from 4.6% to 7.7% in the Basque Country

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 77,800 for the fourth quarter of the year, 31,400 more than in the previous quarter. The number of unemployed men, in total 42,900 people, increased by 19,900 and the number of unemployed women rose by 11,600 in the fourth quarter, up to a total of 34,900.

Data for the first quarter of 2009 showed that the unemployment rate stood at 7.7%, 3.1 percentage points up on the previous quarter. Female unemployment rose to 7.8% (up 2.5 percentage points) and male unemployment rose by 3.5 points, up to 7.6%. The youth unemployment rate continued to be the highest at 20.6% and had increased by 8.8 percentage points, with unemployment affecting 11,700 young job seekers aged 16 to 24.

The number of unemployed increased in the three provinces: The number of jobless rose by 6,400 in Álava to 14,600 and brought the unemployment rate up to 9.5%. In Bizkaia, there were 16,300 more people unemployed and an unemployment rate of 7.9%. Finally, unemployment rose by 8.500 people to 21,300 in Gipuzkoa, with an employment rate of 6. 5%.

According to EUROSTAT - Statistical Office of the European Union-, the unemployment rate for the EU-27 as a whole in February 2009 was 7.9% and 15.5% for Spain.

During the last year, 44,200 people joined the ranks of the unemployed in the Basque Country

The employed population fell by 37,200 people (3.8%) over the last twelve-month period, in other words, first quarter of 2009 with respect to the first quarter of 2008. This decrease was mainly among men, with 33,200 fewer jobs, while 4,000 women became unemployed.



The unemployment rate in the last year fell by 4.3 percentage points (from 3.3% to 7.7%), meaning that 44.200 more people joined the ranks of the unemployed in the Basque Country over the year. By provinces, the unemployment rate increased by 7.4 percentage points in Álava, by 4.2 points in Bizkaia and by 3.1 points in Gipuzkoa over the last twelve months.

Methodology note: From the first quarter of 2009 onwards, the PRA will use the new Classification of Economic Activity (CNAE-2009) to code economic activity. In 2008, a double codification was performed using CNAE-93 Rev1 and CNAE-2009, when enables the data from both periods to be compared. This change is part of an international process to review the main statistical economic classifications.

POPULATION IN RELATION TO ACTIVITY SURVEY (PRA)

*p.p. = Difference in percentage points. Source: EUSTAT

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 Online press releases: www.eustat.es Databank: www.eustat.eus/bancopx/english/indice.aspx