Press Release 18/10/2013
The population in work was up by 11,000 individuals and the unemployment figure stood at 14.8% in the third quarter of 2013 in the Basque Country
The active population rose by 15,800 individuals, and the activity rate stood at 57.2%
The data from the labour market in the Basque Country from the third quarter of 2013 showed a figure of 913,900 individuals in work, which is an increase of 11,000 compared with the previous quarter (+1.2%), according to Eustat data. On the other hand, the unemployment rate of the Basque Country stood at 14.8%, 0.3 percentage points up on the second quarter of 2013.
As a result of the change in the working and unemployed population, the activity rate was 57.2% in the third quarter of 2013, 0.8 percentage points above that of the previous quarter. The active population increased by 15,800 to reach a total of 1,072,200.
The increase in the number of individuals in work only affected men, with 11,000 more in work than the previous quarter, whilst the number of women in work remained stable. The province with the greatest increase was Bizkaia, with 6,200 more employed individuals, followed by Gipuzkoa with 5,500 more, whereas in Álava it dropped by 700. Regarding age, there was a notable increase in employment among young people between the ages of 16 and 24, with 6,400 more of them in work.
The population in work grew in the service sector and in agriculture whilst it fell in construction and industry.
Employment figures were up by 13,700 in the service sector, followed by agriculture with 400; on the other hand, 1,800 jobs were lost in construction and 1,300 in industry.
The greatest increase in the working population was among non-salaried individuals on a temporary contract or without a contract, with this group increasing by 19,500, and amongst the self-employed, up by 7,500, whereas the number of non-salaried workers on permanent contracts fell by 15,900.
The employment rate, the percentage of individuals in work between the ages of 16 and 64, stood at 63.6%, 0.8 percentage points up on the previous quarter. This figure stood at 68.1% for men and 59% for women.
By province, the highest employment rate turned out to be that of Gipuzkoa, with 66.3% and an increase of 1.5 percentage points compared to the previous quarter; this was followed by Bizkaia, with 62.4% and seven tenths more. Álava had the lowest rate, with 62.2% and three tenths of a point less than the previous quarter.
In the third quarter of 2013 it was estimated that there were 867,700 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, 5,100 families less than the previous quarter, and the number of households where all active individuals were unemployed also dropped by 3,500, rising to 45,600 families, 5.3% of the total.
The unemployment rate rose from 14.5% to 14.8%
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 158,300 in the third quarter of the year, 4,700 more than the previous quarter. The number of unemployed women, 71,300 individuals, was up by 6,000, whilst the number of unemployed men fell by 1,300, reaching a total of 87,000.
The data for the third quarter of 2013 revealed an unemployment rate of 14.8%, 0.3 points more than the previous quarter. The unemployment rate for women rose to 14.5% (1 percentage point higher) and the rate for men fell to 15% (0.4 percentage points lower). The youth unemployment figure is still the highest, 41.2%, although it fell by 1.7 percentage points due to the growth in the number of people in work affecting 21,700 active young people between 16 and 24 years old.
By provinces, the greatest increase was in Álava (+4,400 individuals), where the unemployment rate reached 16.7%, the highest level. In Gipuzkoa, with 40,500 individuals out of work, unemployment rose by 1,200 with the unemployment rate standing at 11.9%. In Bizkaia, the unemployment rate fell to15.9%, with 800 more individuals out of work with respect to the previous quarter.
According to EUROSTAT –The Statistical Office of the European Union-, in August 2013 the unemployment rate of the European Union-28 stood at 10.9% and that of Spain stood at 26.2%.
In the last year the number of employed and unemployed individuals rose in the Basque Country
The population in work in the Basque Country rose by 8,700 compared to the third quarter of 2012; that is, by 1%. This rise was mainly concentrated amongst men, with 7,300 more jobs, whilst the number of women in work was up by 1,400.
The unemployment rate was up by 3 percentage points (from 11.8% to 14.8%), with 37,700 more individuals unemployed in the Basque Country compared to the data from the third quarter of 2012. By province, the unemployment rate was up in Álava by 6.5 percentage points, in Gipuzkoa by 3.4 points and in Bizkaia by 1.7 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)