Press Release 21/01/2022

SURVEY ON POPULATION IN RELATION TO ACTIVITY. IV/2021

The number of people in work decreased by 0.2% and the unemployment rate rose to 9.9% in the fourth quarter of 2021 in the Basque Country

However, in the last year there were 17,800 more people in work and 14,900 fewer people unemployed

Data from the fourth quarter of 2021 on the labour market in the Basque Country shows 2,200 fewer people in work and 12,000 more unemployed people than in the previous quarter, according to Eustat data. There were an estimated 104,700 unemployed people this quarter and the figure for people in work stood at 951,400, 0.2% down on the third quarter of the year. In contrast, in the last year there were 17,800 more people in work and 14,900 fewer people unemployed.

The unemployment rate of the Basque Country stood at 9.9%, one percentage point more than in the third quarter of 2021. As a result of the evolution in the employed and unemployed population, the activity rate stood at 56.3% in the fourth quarter of 2021, rising 0.5 percentage points in respect of the previous quarter. However, in the last year, the unemployment rate fell by 11.4% in respect of the fourth quarter of 2020 and 9.9% in respect of the fourth quarter of 2021, down 1.5 percentage points.

By province and in respect of the previous quarter, in Gipuzkoa there were 3,300 fewer people employed; in contrast, in Álava there were 400 more people in work and in Bizkaia 600 more. With regards to the capitals, San Sebastián was the capital with the biggest fall in employment, with 1,600 fewer employed people, followed by Bilbao (-1,200) and, finally, in Vitoria-Gasteiz, there were 300 more people in work.

In terms of gender, the decrease in employment affected men (-2,200), whereas the number of women in work remained constant in relation to the previous quarter. With regards to nationality, the number of foreign nationals in work fell by 1,200 (-1.5%), whilst the number of Spanish nationals in work dropped by 1,000 (-0.1%).

Employment fell in industry and services, increased in construction and remained stable in the primary sector

The employed population in the Basque Country fell by 3,100 in Industry (-1.5%) and by 1,100 in the services sector (-0.2%), whereas it remained stable in the primary sector and increased by 1,900 in construction (+3.5%).

The employment rate, calculated as the percentage of people in work aged 16 to 64 over the total for these ages, fell by 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, standing at 68.1%. This figure reached 71% for men and 65.2% for women.

With regard to level of education completed, the greatest decrease in the employment rate was recorded among those educated to primary school level or lower (-1 percentage point), standing at 59.2%. For people with secondary or intermediate education the employment rate fell by 0.3 points to 60.4%. Lastly, the employment rate among people who had completed higher education increased by 0.2 points to stand at 83.1%.

As regards nationality, the highest employment rate was recorded amongst Spanish nationals, with 69.7% and a drop of one tenth of a percentage point in respect of the previous quarter, whereas for foreign nationals it stood at 54.3% (-1 percentage point).

By province, Álava had the highest employment rate with 69.8% and a decrease of 0.1 percentage points in respect of the previous quarter. Gipuzkoa came second with 69.2% and a fall of 0.5 percentage points; and, lastly, in Bizkaia, the employment rate remained the same (66.9%).

The number of households with all active individuals out of work increased by 4,400

In the fourth quarter of 2021 it was estimated that there were 902,600 households in the Basque Country, of which a third did not have any active individuals, 1,700 fewer households than in the previous quarter. In almost six out of every ten households, all of the active individuals were in work, 6,900 fewer families; furthermore, households where all active individuals were unemployed stood at 37,900, 4,400 households more than the previous quarter.

The fourth quarter of 2021 revealed an unemployment rate of 9.9%, one percentage point more than in 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 104,700 in the fourth quarter of the year, 12,000 more than in the previous quarter. The number of unemployed men, 52,100, increased by 3,900 (+8.1%), whilst the number of unemployed women increased by 8,000 (+17.9%), reaching a total of 52,600 for the quarter.

The data for the fourth quarter of 2021 revealed an unemployment rate of 9.9%, one percentage point more than in the previous quarter. The male unemployment rate stood at 9.5% (+0.7 percentage points) and the female rate was up 1.5 percentage points, reaching 10.4%.

As regards the level of education, the largest unemployment rate increase was among people educated to primary school level (+1.9 percentage points), the unemployment rate standing at 13.5%. For people who had completed higher education , the unemployment rate rose 0.9 percentage points to stand at 6.7%. Lastly, the unemployment rate among people who had completed secondary and intermediate education increased by 0.8 percentage points to stand at 11.4%.

With regards to nationality, the unemployed population figure increased among Spanish nationals by 8,700, to 79,800. Among foreign nationals it rose by 3,300, to 24,900 people out of work.

By province, in Bizkaia, the number of people out of work increased by 8,400 and the unemployment rate rose by 1.4 percentage points, standing at 11.3%. In Gipuzkoa, with 27,000 people out of work, the number of unemployed rose by 2,900 and the unemployment rate increased by 0.9 percentage points to 7.9%. In Álava, there were 600 more people out of work and the unemployment rate reached 9.5%, 0.3 percentage points up on the previous quarter.

As regards the capitals, there were 4,800 more people out of work in Bilbao, 100 more in San Sebastián , whereas in Vitoria-Gasteiz unemployment remained the same as in the third quarter of the year.

According to EUROSTAT, the Statistical Office of the European Union, in November 2021 the deseasonalised unemployment rate of the European Union as a whole stood at 6.5% and that of Spain stood at 14.1%.

Over the last year, the number of employed people increased by 1.9% and the unemployment rate dropped from 11.4% to 9.9%.

The employed population in the Basque Country increased by 1.9% in relation to the fourth quarter of 2020, 17,800 more people in work, and the unemployment rate decreased by 1.5 percentage points (from 11.4% to 9.9%), with 14,900 fewer people unemployed in the Basque Country compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.

98.5% of average registered workers were in work, according to ILO criteria

It is estimated that there were 879,600 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 98.5% were employed, according to criteria from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), a total of 866,100 individuals.

Amongst those employed according to ILO criteria in the PRA, 73,400 people, 7.7%, 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 because they are in other situations.

33.8% of those unemployed were not registered as unemployed with the Basque Employment Institute (Lanbide)

It is estimated that there was a quarterly average of 99,900 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, 64.9% were unemployed according to the ILO definition (64,800 people). 33.8% of people unemployed according to the ILO definition in the PRA were not registered as unemployed with Lanbide (35,400 people), even though they may have been registered under other categories of job seekers.

For further information:

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