Press Release 10/21/2015
The unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 14.7%, and the employment rate fell by 0.4% in the third quarter of 2015 in the Basque Country
The active population fell and the activity rate stood at 57.2%
The data from the labour market in the Basque Country from the third quarter of 2015 showed that there were 885,600 people in work, which was a net decrease of 3,700 compared with the previous quarter (-0.4%), according to Eustat data. On the other hand, the unemployment rate of the Basque Country stood at 14.7%, 0.4 percentage points down compared with the second quarter of 2015, when the rate was 15.1%.
As a result of the change in the working and unemployed population, the activity rate was 57.2% in the third quarter of 2015, 0.4 percentage points below that of the previous quarter.
In terms of gender, the decrease in the number of individuals in work affected men above all, with 2,800 fewer in work than the previous quarter, whilst the number of women in work fell by 900. Álava and Bizkaia saw employment increase, whilst employment in Gipuzkoa fell.
The working population in industry increased by 1,000 individuals net, whilst the working population in the other sectors fell
The working population was down by 3,100 in the service sector, by 1,400 in the primary sector, by 200 in construction, whilst in industry it rose by 1,000.
The employment rate, calculated as the percentage of people in work aged 16 to 64 over the total for these ages, remained at 64.6%. This figure stood at 68% for men and 61.3% for women.
By province, the highest employment rate turned out to be that of Gipuzkoa, with 66.5% and a decrease of 0.8 percentage points compared to the previous quarter; this was followed by Álava, with a rate of 65.8% and an increase of 0.9 points; lastly, Bizkaia had the lowest rate, with 63.2% and an increase of 0.4 percentage points in the last quarter.
In 475,700 households, all active individuals were employed
In the third quarter of 2015 it was estimated that there were 861,600 households in the Basque Country, a third of which did not have any active individuals. In just over half of households, all of the active individuals were in work, 3,200 families less than the previous quarter; furthermore, households where all active individuals were unemployed stood at 51,000 (5.9% of the total).
The unemployment rate fell to 14.7%, 0.4 percentage points less than the previous quarter
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 152,300 in the third quarter of the year, 5,400 down from the previous quarter. The number of unemployed men, 80,300 individuals, was down by 7,700, whilst the number of unemployed women increased by 2,200, reaching a total of 72,000 for the quarter.
The data for the third quarter of 2015 revealed an unemployment rate of 14.7%, 0.4 points less than the previous quarter, when the rate was 15.1%. The unemployment rates for men and women were equal to this percentage, due to the 1.1 percentage point decrease in the rate for men and the 0.4 percentage point increase in the rate for women. The youth unemployment rate continued to be the highest, and stood at 32.7%, affecting 15,400 active young people between the ages of 16 and 24, although it has decreased by 1.9 percentage points compared with the second quarter of 2015.
By province, the greatest decrease in the number of people out of work was in Gipuzkoa (-2,700 individuals) where the unemployment rate stood at 12.2%. In Álava, with 23,100 individuals out of work, the number of unemployed fell by 2,300, with the unemployment rate standing at 14.7%. In Bizkaia, there were 400 fewer unemployed individuals than the previous quarter and the unemployment rate stood at 16.2%.
According to EUROSTAT, the Statistical Office of the European Union, in August 2015 the unemployment rate of the European Union-28 stood at 9.5% and that of Spain stood at 22.2%.
98.1% of average registered workers were employed
It is estimated that there are 805,800 average registered workers in the Basque Country; in other words, 805,600 individuals residing in the Basque Country who were registered for Social Security at the time of the survey. Of those, the PRA estimates 98.1% were employed according to criteria from International Labour Organisation (ILO), which totals 790,600 individuals.
Furthermore, of the 805,800 average registered workers estimated, 760,800 (94.4%) of those remained registered during the quarter on a continuous basis, or with a temporary interruption, whilst the rest of these individuals - 45,000 registered workers - were either newly registered, or they left the register in the third quarter of 2015.
Amongst those employed according to ILO criteria in the PRA, 9.4% were not registered for Social Security (83,500 individuals) in companies based in the Basque Country, which may belong to public mutual societies for civil servants or companies from other Autonomous Regions or situations.
30.6% of those unemployed were not registered as such in Lanbide
It is estimated that there were 141,600 average registered unemployed individuals in Lanbide, i.e. individuals residing in the Basque Country who were registered in Lambide at the time of the survey in any one of the categories designated for registered unemployment. Of those, 70% were unemployed according to the ILO definition. (99,100 unemployed individuals).
Additionally, of the 141,600 individuals registered in the Lanbide on average, 118,700 (83.8%) were individuals who were still registered throughout the quarter, or at best, they were temporarily off the register. The other 22,900 individuals either registered for the first time, or they left the Lanbide register in the third quarter of 2015.
Of the individuals unemployed according to the ILO definition in the PRA, 30.7% were not registered in Lanbide (46,600 individuals).
METHODOLOGICAL NOTE: the homogeneous series combined with the new PRA methodology will be provided on the website as they become available.
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 survey on the population in relation to activity in the Basque Country (PRA)
Databank on survey on the population in relation to activity in the Basque Country (PRA)