Press release dated 20/01/2011

POPULATION IN RELATION TO ACTIVITY SURVEY (PRA) 4th QUARTER 2010

The number of people in work fell by 1,9% and the unemployment rate reached 10% in the Basque Country in the fourth quarter of 2010

9,100 net job were lost compared to 2009

Labour market data for the Basque Country for the fourth quarter of 2010 revealed that there were 942,100 people in work, which was a net decrease of 17,900 on the previous quarter (-1.9%), according to Eustat data. On the other hand, the unemployment rate for the Basque Country stood at 10.0%, 1.2 percentage points up on the third quarter of 2010.

As a result of the evolution of the number of people in and out of work, the labour force participation rate was 55.9% for the fourth quarter of 2010, 0.4 percentage points up on the previous quarter.

This drop in the number of people in work particularly affected men, with 11,300 fewer employed than in the previous quarter, while the number of women in work fell by 6,600. Employment fell in the three provinces: Bizkaia had 10,900 fewer net jobs, followed by Gipuzkoa down by 5,200 and, finally, Álava lost 1,800 jobs.

Services, Construction and Industry lost jobs while employment rose in Agriculture

The Service Sector lost 12,300, Construction 4,300 and Industry 2,000 net jobs, while Agriculture recovered 700 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2010.

The employment rate, i.e. the percentage of people aged 16 to 64 in employment out of the total number of people in that age range, was 64.6%, 1.3 percentage points down on the previous quarter. The rate was 70.6% among men, while it stood at 58.5% for women.

By province, the highest employment rate was in Gipuzkoa (67.3%), down 1.1 percentage points on the previous quarter, followed by Álava (64.5%), down by 0.9 points. Finally, Bizkaia had the lowest rate (63.1%) which was down 1.4 points on the last quarter.

The number of employees with an indefinite contract fell by 23,400 to 590,300, while employees with temporary contracts (including those without contracts) were up by 1,000 to a total of 183,700. The number of self-employed in work rose by 4,600 to 168,100, compared to the previous quarter.

In the fourth quarter of 2010, there were estimated to be around 838,100 households in the Basque Country (1,100 up on the previous quarter), of which a third had no member in work. All the working-age people were employed in nearly six out of ten households, which were 12,100 fewer families than in the previous quarter. Furthermore, there were 32,300 households whose working-age members were all unemployed (3.9% of the total), 4,100 more than in the previous quarter.

The unemployment rate rose from 8.8% to 10%

The number of people out of work in the Basque Country, which is to say people who were actively seeking work and were furthermore available for work, was estimated to be 104,200 in the fourth quarter of the year, 11,700 up on the previous quarter. The number of out-of-work men (61,200) increased by 5,600 and the number of unemployed women rose by 6,100 in the fourth quarter to a total of 43,000.

Data for the fourth quarter of 2010 showed that the unemployment rate (10.0%) was 1.2 percentage points up on the previous quarter. The male unemployment rate rose to 10.5% (1.1 percentage points up) and rate for women was 9 2% (1.3 percentage points higher). Youth unemployment continued to be the highest (28.0%), with unemployment affecting 14,800 young job seekers aged between 16 and 24.

By provinces, the greatest increase in the number of unemployed was in Gipuzkoa (+6,900 people) and the unemployment rate stood at 8.7%. In Bizkaia, unemployment rose by 3,500 to 58,300 and the unemployment rate stood at 10.6%. Unemployment rose by 1,400 people in Álava with respect to the previous quarter and the unemployment rate was 10.4%.

According to EUROSTAT (the European Union Statistics Office), the November 2010 unemployment rate was 9.6% for the EU-27 as a whole and 20.6% for Spain.

During the last year, 13,800 people joined the ranks of the unemployed in the Basque Country

The employed population in the Basque Country lost a total 9,100 people (-1.0%) compared to the fourth quarter of 2009. This decrease was mainly among men, with 11,100 fewer jobs, while 1,900 women joined the ranks of the unemployed.

The unemployment rate increased by 1.3 percentage points (from 8.7% to 10.0%) over the last year, which means that a further 13,800 people lost their jobs in the Basque Country compared to the fourth quarter of 2009. By provinces, the unemployment rate increased by 1.6 percentage points in Gipuzkoa, by 1.4 points in Bizkaia, and by 0.2 points in Álava 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 Further press releases on population in relation to activity survey (PRA) Databank on population in relation to activity survey (PRA)