Press release 20/10/2011

POPULATION IN RELATION TO ACTIVITY SURVEY (PRA) 3RD QUARTER OF 2011

The number of people in work dropped by 0.5% and the unemployment rate fell to 10.6% in the third quarter of 2011 in the Basque Country

Both the working and unemployed population fell by 4600 and 3500 people respectively.

The data from the labour market in the Basque Country from the third quarter of 2011 showed a figure of 938,600 people in work, which is a net decrease of 4600 compared with the previous quarter (-0.5%), according to Eustat data. On the other hand, the unemployment rate for the Basque Country stood at 10.6%, 0.3 percent less than the second quarter of 2011.

As a result of the change in the working and unemployed population, the activity rate was 56.0% in the third quarter of 2011, six tenths of a percentage point below that of the previous quarter.

The decrease in the number of individuals in work affected above all men, with 6500 less in work than the previous quarter, whilst the number of women in work rose by 1900. The number of people in work fell in two of the three provinces: Gipuzkoa saw a fall of 2800, followed by Bizkaia where it dropped by 1800, whilst in Araba/Álava the working population remained at 145,400.

The number of people in work fell in Industry and Construction whilst there was practically no change in services and agriculture

The working population fell by 3700 in Industry and by 1200 in construction. There were slight increases, however, in the number of people in work in both the services and agriculture sectors in the third quarter of 2011.

The employment rate, the percentage of individuals in work between the ages of 16 and 64, stood at 64.5%, 0.4 percentage points less than the previous quarter. This figure stood at 69.3% for men and 59.9% for women.

By province, the highest employment rate turned out to be that of Gipuzkoa, with 67.3% and a decrease of 0.8 percentage points compared to the previous quarter; this was followed by Araba/Álava, with 65.9% and two tenths less. Bizkaia had the lowest rate, with 62.5% and one tenth of a point less than the last quarter.

The number of salaried individuals with a permanent contract fell by 5800 and stood at 596,800, whilst those on a temporary contract (including those without contracts) fell by 1000, totalling 180,100.

In the third quarter of 2011 it was estimated that there were 848,200 households in the Basque Country (1000 more than the previous quarter) a third of which did not have any active individuals. In almost six out of every 10 households, all of the active individuals were in work, which was 4600 families more than the previous quarter; also, there were 35,900 households where all active individuals were unemployed (4.2% of the total), without a significant variation when compared with the previous quarter.



The unemployment rate fell from 10.9% to 10.6%

The unemployed population in the Basque country, that is, individuals who are available for work, actively making enquiries and seeking employment, was estimated to be 11,400 in the third quarter of the year, 3500 less than the previous quarter. The number of unemployed women, 46,400 individuals, fell by 8100, whilst the number of unemployed men increased by 4600, reaching a total of 65,000.

The data for the third quarter of 2011 revealed an unemployment rate of 10.6%, 0.3 points less than the previous quarter. The unemployment rate for women fell to 9.8% (1.5 percentage points lower) and the rate for men rose to 11.3% (0.8 percentage points higher). The youth unemployment figure, although still the highest, fell by 2 percentage points and stood at 21.7%, affecting 11,000 active young people between 16 and 24 years old.

By province, the greatest decrease in the number of people out of work was in Gipuzkoa (-3600 individuals) where the unemployment rate stood at 7.5%. In Araba/Álava the figure fell by 900, with 10,800 individuals out of work, and the unemployment rate stood at 6.9%. On the other hand, in Bizkaia, the unemployment rate reached 13.5%, with an increase of 1000 individuals out of work.

According to EUROSTAT –The Statistical Office of the European Union-, in August 2011 the unemployment rate of the European Union-27 stood at 9.5% and that of Spain stood at 21.2%.

In comparison with the third quarter of last year, 18,900 individuals joined the number of unemployed in the Basque Country

The population in work in the Basque Country compared to the third quarter of 2010 fell by 21,400, -2.2%. This fall was mainly seen in employment amongst men, with 21,200 less jobs, whilst the number of women in work remained constant.

The unemployment rate rose by 1.8 percentage points (from 8.8% to 10.6%), with 18,900 more individuals adding to the unemployment situation in the Basque Country compared with the data from the third quarter of 2010. By province, in Bizkaia the unemployment rate rose by 3.7 percentage points and in Gipuzkoa it increased by 0.8 percentage points, whilst in Araba/Álava the unemployment rate fell by 2.6 points.

For further information:

Basque Statistics Office C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Tel: +34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.es Contact: Pilar Martínez Rollón Tel::+34-945-01 75 31 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)