Press Release 19/07/2013
The population in work was up by 14,600 individuals and the unemployment figure stood at 14.5% in the second quarter of 2013 in the Basque Country
The active population rose by 25,700 individuals, placing the activity rate at 56.4%
The data from the labour market in the Basque Country from the second quarter of 2013 showed that there were 902,900 individuals in work, which was a net increase of 14,600 compared with the previous quarter (+1.6%), according to Eustat data. On the other hand, the unemployment rate for the Basque Country stood at 14.5%, 0.7 percentage points up on the first quarter of 2013.
As a result of the evolution in the employed and unemployed population, the activity rate was 56.4% in the second quarter of this year, 1.3 percentage points more than the previous quarter.
The increase in the number of individuals in work affected men, with 8,100 more in work than the previous quarter, whilst the number of women in work rose by 6,500. The province with the greatest increase was Bizkaia, with 10,300 more net employed, while in Gipuzkoa it rose by 4,200 and in Álava it remained almost stable.
The services, industry and agriculture sectors gained in terms of the working population whilst there were losses in construction
The number of individuals in work in the services sector was up by 11,600, followed by industry with 7,700 and agriculture with 200. However, construction lost 4,900 individuals.
The employment rate, the percentage of individuals in work between the ages of 16 and 64, stood at 62.8%, one percentage point up on the previous quarter. This figure stood at 66.5% for men and 59% for women.
By province, the highest employment rate turned out to be that of Gipuzkoa, with 64.8% and an increase of 0.8 percentage points compared to the previous quarter; this was followed by Álava, with 62.5% and 0.1 points up; and finally Bizkaia, which had the lowest rate at 61.7%, but which increased the most, by 1.4 points.
The number of salaried individuals with a permanent contract fell by 1,900 and stood at 563,800, whilst those on a temporary contract or those without contracts rose by 700, totalling 157,800. The increase in the number of individuals in work comes from non-salaried individuals - businesspeople and self-employed workers - whose number grew to 15,700.
In the second quarter of 2013 it was estimated that there were 867,100 households in the Basque Country (600 more than the previous quarter), a third of which did not have any active individuals. In just over half of households all of the active individuals were in work, which was 6,700 families more than the previous quarter; moreover, there were 49,400 households where all active individuals were unemployed (5.7% of the total), which translated into 3,000 families more than the previous quarter.
The unemployment rate rose from 13.8% to 14.5%
The employed population in the Basque Country, that is, individuals who are available for work, actively making enquiries and seeking employment, was estimated to be 153,600 in the second quarter of the year, 11,200 more than the previous quarter. The number of unemployed men, 88,300 individuals, increased by 6,600, whilst the number of unemployed women was up by 4,600 in the second quarter, reaching a total of 65,300.
The data for the second quarter of 2013 revealed an unemployment rate of 14.5%, 0.7 points more than the previous quarter. The male unemployment rate rose to 15.4% and the female rate reached 13.5%, 0.7 percentage points more than the previous quarter in both cases. The youth unemployment rate continued to be the highest, and stood at 42.8%, affecting 18,400 active young people between the ages of 16 and 24.
By province, the greatest increase in the number of people out of work was in Bizkaia (+4,600 individuals) where the unemployment rate stood at 16.2%. In Gipuzkoa, with 39,300 individuals out of work, the number of unemployed rose by 3,300, with the unemployment rate standing at 11.8%. In Álava, there were 3,200 more unemployed individuals than the previous quarter and the unemployment rate stood at 14.4%.
According to EUROSTAT, The Statistical Office of the European Union, in May 2013 the overall unemployment rate of the European Union-27 stood at 10.9% and that of Spain stood at 26.9%.
Last year the number of individuals in work fell by 1.2%
The population in work in the Basque Country fell by 11,400 compared to the second quarter of 2012, 1.2%. This fall was shared between men, with 6,100 fewer jobs, whilst the number of women in work fell by 5,300.
The unemployment rate was up by 2.6 percentage points (from 11.9% to 14.5%), with 30,600 more individuals unemployed in the Basque Country compared to the data from the second quarter of 2012. By province, the unemployment rate was up in Álava by 4.5 percentage points, in Gipuzkoa by 3.2 points and in Bizkaia by 1.9 points compared to the same quarter of 2012.
For further information:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Instituto Vasco de Estadística
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tlf: 945 01 75 62
Further press releases on population in relation to activity survey (PRA)
Databank on population in relation to activity survey (PRA)