Press Release 21/07/2017
The unemployment rate fell to 11%, and the employment rate increased by 13,800 in the second quarter of 2017 in the Basque Country
The unemployment rate decreased by three percentage points last year
The data from the labour market in the Basque Country from the second quarter of 2017 showed that there were 923,200 people in work, which was an increase of 13,800 compared with the previous quarter (+1.5%), according to Eustat data. On the other hand, the unemployment rate of the Basque Country stood at 11%, 0.4 percentage points down on the first quarter of 2017.
As a result of the change in the working and unemployed population, the activity rate was 56.5% in the second quarter of 2017, five percentage points above that of the previous quarter.
As far as gender was concerned, the rise in employment had a greater effect on women, with 8,800 more in work than in the previous quarter, whilst the number of men in work increased by 5,100. By province, all three experienced growth. The province that saw the greatest increase was Bizkaia, with 7,600 more, followed by Gipuzkoa with 5,300 more, while in Álava the figure was up by 1,000.
Employment levels increased in all sectors of activity, except construction
The employed population in the Basque Country increased by 6,900 in the Services sector, 6,400 in Industry and 700 in the Primary Sector, while in Construction the number of people employed fell by 200.
The employment rate, calculated as the percentage of people in work aged 16 to 64 over the total for these ages, rose by 1.1 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, standing at 66.9%. This figure reached 70.1% for men and 63.8% for women.
By province, the highest employment rate turned out to be that of Gipuzkoa, with 68.7% and an increase of 1.1 percentage points compared to the previous quarter. Álava came second with 67% and a rise of 7 points compared to the previous quarter and, finally, Bizkaia, where the employment rate rose by 1.2 points, to stand at 65.8%.
There was an increase in the number of households where all members were employed and a fall in those where all members were unemployed
In the second quarter of 2017 it was estimated that there were 877,800 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, 11,100 families more than the previous quarter; furthermore, households where all active individuals were unemployed stood at 39,000, 800 households fewer than in the previous quarter.
The total unemployment rate fell to 11%, 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 113,900 in the second quarter of the year, 3,100 down on the previous quarter. The number of unemployed women, 54,400 individuals, was down by 6,900, whilst the number of unemployed men rose by 3,800, reaching a total of 59,500 for the quarter.
The data for the second quarter of 2017 revealed an unemployment rate of 11%, 0.4 points less than the previous quarter. The male unemployment rate rose to 11% (0.6 percentage points up) and the female rate was down 1.5 points, also standing at 11%. The youth unemployment rate continued to be the highest, and stood at 19.1%, despite a decrease observed of more than four percentage points (4.1 points less), affecting 8,200 active young people between the ages of 16 and 24.
By province, the greatest decrease in the number of people out of work was in Bizkaia (-2,300 individuals) where the unemployment rate stood at 12.2%, half a percentage point down on the previous quarter. In Gipuzkoa, with 29,700 individuals out of work, the number of unemployed fell by 1,300, with the unemployment rate also falling by half a point to 8.8%. In Álava, there were 600 more unemployed individuals than the previous quarter and the unemployment rate was up 0.3 points (11.6%).
According to EUROSTAT, the Statistical Office of the European Union, in May 2017 the overall unemployment rate of the European Union-28 stood at 7.8 % and that of Spain stood at 17.7%.
Last year, the number of people in work increased and the number of people out of work decreased
The employed population in the Basque Country has grown in relation to the second quarter of 2016 by 19,600 people, 2.2% more, a growth in which there are 10,000 more employed women and 9,600 more employed men.
The unemployment rate was down by three percentage points (from 14% to 11%), with 32,900 fewer unemployed individuals in the Basque Country compared to the data from the second quarter of 2016.
98.3% of average registered workers were in work, according to ILO criteria
It is estimated that there were 852,100 registered workers for the quarter on average in the Basque Country, i.e. the number of individuals residing in the Basque Country who were registered for Social Security at the time of the survey. Of those, the PRA estimates that 98.3% were employed, according to criteria from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), a total of 837,900 individuals.
Amongst those employed according to ILO criteria in the PRA, 74,700 people, 8.1%, were not registered in the Social Security system, either because they did not work for companies based in the Basque Country, or they belonged to public mutual societies for civil servants, or are in other situations.
28.6% of those unemployed were not registered as unemployed with the Basque Employment Institute (Lanbide)
It is estimated that there was a quarterly average of 118,300 unemployed individuals registered with Lanbide, i.e. individuals residing in the Basque Country who were registered in Lanbide at the time of the survey in any one of the categories designated for registered unemployment. Of those, 67.3% were unemployed according to the ILO definition (79,600 unemployed individuals). Of the individuals unemployed according to the ILO definition in the PRA, 28.6% were not registered as unemployed with Lanbide (32,600 individuals), even though they may be registered under other categories.
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