Press Release 23/04/2020

SURVEY ON POPULATION IN RELATION TO ACTIVITY. I/2020

The unemployment rate stood at 9.9%, and the employment population was down 0.4% in the first quarter of 2020 in the Basque Country

In the first quarter of the year, the unemployment rate dropped half a percentage point, from 10.4% in the first quarter of 2019 to 9.9% in the first quarter of 2020

Basque Country labour market data for the first quarter of 2020 showed a figure of 945,600 people in work, which is a decrease of 3,500 compared to the previous quarter (-0.4%), according to Eustat data. There were an estimated 104,400 people out of work in the Basque Country in the first quarter of the year, 4,900 more than in the previous quarter.

On the other hand, the unemployment rate of the Basque Country stood at 9.9%, 0.4 percentage points up on the fourth quarter of 2019. As a result of the evolution in the employed and unemployed population, the activity rate stood at 56.4% in the first quarter of 2020, remaining stable with respect to the previous quarter.

By province and compared to the previous quarter, Gipuzkoa experienced the biggest fall in employment, with 4,200 fewer people in work; followed by Bizkaia, with a decrease of 600, whilst in Álava there were 1,300 more employed people. With regards to the capitals, in San Sebastián there were 3,700 fewer people in work; on the other hand, in Bilbao employment was up by 1,500 and in Vitoria-Gasteiz it increased by 1,700.

In terms of gender, the decrease in the number of people in work most affected men, with 2,000 fewer in work than the previous quarter, whilst the number of women in work fell by 1,400.

With regards to nationality, the number of Spanish nationals in work fell by 2,800, whilst the number of foreign nationals in work decreased by 700.

Employment fell in the services and primary sectors and increased in industry and in the construction sector

The employed population in the Basque Country was down by 4,800 in the services sector and by 500 in the primary sector; in contrast, employment rose by 700 in industry and by 1,100 in the construction sector.

The employment rate, calculated as the percentage of people in work aged 16 to 64 over the total for these ages, fell by 0.6 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, standing at 68%. This figure reached 71.4% for men and 64.7% for women.

With regards to the level of education completed, the employment rate decreased by 1.7 percentage points among people who had completed secondary education, reaching 58.9%; it rose by 0.1 percentage points (83.9%) among those who had completed higher education, and the employment rate among people educated to primary school level or lower increased by 0.4 percentage points, standing at 61.2%.

As regards nationality, the highest employment rate was recorded amongst Spanish nationals, with 69.2%, whereas for foreign nationals it stood at 56.6%.

By province, Álava had the highest employment rate, at 70.5%, an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous quarter; Gipuzkoa came second with 69.5% and a decrease of 1.4 points; in Bizkaia, the employment rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to stand at 66.4%.

The number of households with all active individuals in work rose by 1,700

In the first quarter of 2020 it was estimated that there were 898,100 households in the Basque Country, of which a third did not have any active individuals. In six out of every ten households, all of the active individuals were in work, 1,700 families fewer than in the previous quarter; furthermore, households where all active individuals were unemployed stood at 30,600, 600 households more than the previous quarter.

The first quarter of 2020 revealed an unemployment rate of 9.9%, 0.4 percentage points more than the previous quarter

The unemployed population in the Basque Country, that is, people who are available for work, actively making enquiries and seeking employment, was estimated to be 104,400 in the first quarter of the year, 4,900 more than in the previous quarter. The number of unemployed men, 50,100, was up by 2,300, whilst the number of unemployed women increased by 2,600, reaching a total of 54,300 for the quarter.

The data for the first quarter of 2020 reveals an unemployment rate of 9.9%, 0.4 percentage points more than the previous quarter. The male unemployment rate stood at 9.2% (up 0.4 percentage points) and the female rate was up 0.5 percentage points, reaching 10.8%. By age, the youth unemployment rate continued to be the highest, standing at 23.9%, an increase of 1.4 percentage points compared to the previous quarter.

As regards the level of education, the unemployment rate increased among people whose highest level of education completed was secondary education, up 1.4 percentage points, the unemployment rate standing at 12.5%. For people who had completed higher education, the unemployment rate remained stable (5.6%) and dropped one tenth among people with primary education, standing at 13.4%.

With regards to nationality, the unemployed population figure increased among foreign nationals by 2,500, the number of unemployed standing at 25,300. Among Spanish nationals, unemployment increased by 2,400 to stand at 79,100 people out of work.

By province, Bizkaia saw the greatest increase in unemployment, with 3,400 more people out of work and the unemployment rate was up 0.6 percentage points, reaching 11.3%. In Gipuzkoa, with 27,000 people out of work, the number of unemployed rose by 2,200 and the unemployment rate increased by 0.7 percentage points to 7.9%. In Álava, however, there were 700 fewer people out of work and the unemployment rate stood at 9.8%, 0.4 percentage points down on the previous quarter.

As regards the capitals, unemployment increased in Bilbao and San Sebastian by 2,700 and 1,400 people respectively; in Vitoria-Gasteiz, on the other hand, there were 300 fewer people out of work.

According to EUROSTAT – the Statistical Office of the European Union – in February 2020 the unemployment rate of the European Union-27 stood at 6.5% and that of Spain stood at 13.6%.

In the last year, the number of employed people increased by 0.7% and the unemployment rate dropped from 10.4% to 9.9%.

The employed population in the Basque Country grew by 7,000 people in relation to the first quarter of 2019, an increase of 0.7%. The unemployment rate was down half a percentage point (from 10.4% to 9.9%), with 4,600 fewer people unemployed in the Basque Country compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.

98% of average registered workers were in work, according to ILO criteria

It is estimated that there were 883,700 registered workers for the quarter on average in the Basque Country, i.e. the number of people residing in the Basque Country who were registered for Social Security at the time of the survey. Of those, the PRA estimates that 98% were employed, according to criteria from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), a total of 866,500 individuals.

Amongst those employed according to ILO criteria in the PRA, 69,600 people, 7.4%, 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.

33% of those unemployed were not registered as unemployed with the Basque Employment Institute (Lanbide)

It is estimated that there was a quarterly average of 105,400 unemployed people registered with Lanbide, i.e. people 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, 62.6% were unemployed according to the ILO definition (66,100 people). 33% of people unemployed according to the ILO definition in the PRA were not registered as unemployed with Lanbide (34,500 people), even though they may be registered under other categories of job seekers.

Repercussions of COVID-19 on the labour market in the Basque Country

Population data in relation to activity in the first quarter of 2020 have been conditioned by the appearance of COVID-19 and the measures restricting activity established by the Government. The month of March was the focal point of this impact, which was more pronounced in the second half of the month. The results for the quarter as a whole partially incorporate this effect, but it is mitigated by two months of normal activity.

We must work on the basis that the figures obtained regarding the employed population or rate of employment may partly conceal the facts. In reality, the emergency situation has implied the massive use of certain resources, such as temporary layoffs measures known as ERTEs (Temporary Labour Force Adjustment Plans), which affect the activity, but not necessarily the status of the population in relation to the same. In fact, people who have been subject to an ERTE in the last four weeks remain employed because they are expected to return to work in at least 3 months or are continuing to receive more than 50% of their salary. Other palliative mechanisms affect self-employed workers, but equally do not necessarily alter their relationship with the activity.

Therefore, labour market figures show the conjunction of various situations and conceal others; they reflect a normal situation between January and February and the fall in employment, in the strictest sense, in March, when it has meant the end of the working relationship or of the activity, but not a temporary cessation of activity that is protected by the measures described above.

The PRA is an ongoing survey, which enables an analysis by months and even by the 13 weeks across which our sample is evenly distributed in the first quarter. This, together with the amount of information gathered, allows us to obtain additional information for carrying out a better assessment of the situation of the Basque labour market. The information gathered regarding the work status of every person surveyed refers to the week that by sampling design corresponds to them.

The percentage of the employed population who did not work increased sevenfold in the last three weeks of March

The analysis of the evolution of the percentage of employed people who have not worked in the reference week gives relevant results. In this first quarter of the year, the percentage of employed people who have not worked in the reference week is greater than in the first quarters of previous years. If in previous years, for the first quarter, said percentage was between 7% and 9%, in the first quarter of 2020, this percentage reaches 13.9%.

If we examine the same data by week we can also see that it starts to progressively increase from the tenth week (4-10 March), going from 4.9% this week to 36.6% in the last week of the quarter.

The reasons put forward by the working population in the reference week change over time, with a Labour Force Adjustment Plan (ERE) or Temporary Labour Force Adjustment Plan (ERTE) being the reason that increased the most, going from nothing in the first weeks of the quarter to accounting for 12.2% of cases in the week 4-10 March and 39.7% in the final week.

METHODOLOGICAL NOTE: As for each first quarter, the 2019 data has been revised using the projection obtained on 1 January 2019. Data from previous years becomes ‘definitive’ as their figures are based on the definitive population at 1 January of each year. Data for the year in progress are ‘provisional’, calculated using the projection obtained from the definitive population estimate on 1 January 2019.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel: 945 01 75 62