Press Release 20/01/2023

SURVEY ON POPULATION IN RELATION TO ACTIVITY. IV/2022

The number of employed people fell by 0.5% and the unemployment rate rose to 8.4% in the fourth quarter of 2022 in the Basque Country

In the last year, there were 17,100 more employed people, the number of unemployed people fell by 15,000 and the unemployment rate was down 1.5 percentage points

Data from the fourth quarter of 2022 on the labour market in the Basque Country showed 4,600 fewer employed people and 6,100 more unemployed people than in the previous quarter, according to Eustat data. There were an estimated 88,500 unemployed people this quarter and the figure for employed people was 962,600, 0.5% down on the third quarter of 2022. In the last year there were 17,100 more employed people and 15,000 fewer unemployed people.

The unemployment rate in the Basque Country stood at 8.4%, half a percentage point more than in the third quarter of 2022. As a result of the evolution in the employed and unemployed population, the activity rate was 56.2% in the first quarter of 2022, remaining stable with respect to the previous quarter. In the last year, the unemployment rate fell by 9.9% in the fourth quarter of 2021 and 8.4% in the fourth quarter of 2022, down 1.5 percentage points.

By province and compared to the previous quarter, Bizkaia saw 3,000 fewer people employed, Gipuzkoa 1,000 and Álava 600. With regards to the capitals, there were 4,500 fewer people employed in Bilbao and 700 fewer in Vitoria-Gasteiz; however, in San Sebastián there were 500 more people employed.

The greatest decrease in employment was among men (-4,100), whilst there were 400 fewer women in work. With regards to nationality, the number of employed Spanish nationals fell by 3,300 (-0.4%), whilst the number of employed foreign nationals dropped by 1,300 (-1.5%).

Employment increased in the primary sector and the construction sector, and decreased in the industry and services sectors

The employed population in the Basque Country was down 3,400 (-1.7%) in the Industry sector and fell by 3,100 (-0.4%) in the Services sector; however, the Primary sector saw an increase of 200 people (+2.2%) and the Construction sector a rise of 1,600 (+2.8%).

The employment rate, calculated as the percentage of employed people aged 16 to 64 over the total for these ages, dropped one tenth of a percentage point compared to the previous quarter, standing at 69.8%. This figure reached 72.9% for men and 66.7% for women.

With regard to the level of education completed, the employment rate decreased among those educated to primary school level or lower by 0.6 percentage points, standing at 59.6%. For people with secondary or intermediate education and higher education the employment rate fell by 0.2 points to 62.2% and 85.3%, respectively.

As regards nationality, the highest employment rate was recorded among Spanish nationals, at 71.4%, rising one tenth in respect of the previous quarter, whereas for foreign nationals it stood at 57% (-1.3 points).

By province, Gipuzkoa had the highest employment rate, with 71.5%, and a decrease of 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous quarter; in second place was Álava with 69.2%, remaining stable with respect to the previous quarter; and, lastly, in Bizkaia, the employment rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to stand at 68.9%.

In relation to the types of contracts of salaried individuals, the number of people with permanent contracts increased by 19,800 in respect of the previous quarter and, in relation to the previous year, it rose by 61,400 people.

In six out of every ten households all the active individuals were employed and there were 600 more households where all the active individuals were unemployed

In the fourth quarter of 2022 it was estimated that there were 902,600 households in the Basque Country, of which a third did not have any active individuals, 3,800 more households than in the previous quarter. In almost six out of every ten households, all of the active individuals were employed, 4,900 fewer families. Furthermore, households where all active individuals were unemployed stood at 29,600, 600 households more than the previous quarter.

The fourth quarter of 2022 presented an unemployment rate of 8.4%, half a 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 88,500 in the fourth quarter of the year, 6,100 more than in the previous quarter. The number of unemployed women, 46,300 individuals, increased by 4,300, whilst the number of unemployed men saw a drop of 1,800, reaching a total of 42,200 for the quarter.

The data for the fourth quarter of 2022 showed an unemployment rate of 8.4%, half a percentage point more than in the previous quarter. The unemployment rate for women rose by 0.8 percentage points, to 9.1% and the unemployment rate for men stood at 7.8% (+0.4 percentage points).

As regards the level of education, the largest increase in the unemployment rate was among people whose highest level of education completed was secondary and intermediate education (+1.1 percentage points), the unemployment rate standing at 10.3%. For people who had completed primary school level education and lower, the unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points to 11.6%. Lastly, the unemployment rate among people who had completed higher education rose by 0.2 percentage points to stand at 5.1%.

With regards to nationality, the figure for the unemployed population increased among foreign nationals by 5,400, to stand at 23,400; among Spanish nationals it rose by 700, to reach 65,100 people out of work.

By province, in Bizkaia, the number of unemployed people increased by 5,200 and the unemployment rate was up 0.9 percentage points, standing at 9.2%. In Álava, with 14,300 unemployed people, unemployment increased by 1,100 people and the unemployment rate rose by 0.6 percentage points, to 9%. In Gipuzkoa, the number of unemployed people fell by 200 and the unemployment rate remained at 6.9%.

As regards the capitals, there were 3,900 more unemployed people in Bilbao and 1,100 more in Vitoria-Gasteiz; however, in San Sebastian unemployment remained the same as in the previous quarter.

According to EUROSTAT, the Statistical Office of the European Union, in November 2022 the deseasonalised unemployment rate of the European Union as a whole stood at 6% and that of Spain stood at 12.4%.

Over the last year, the number of employed people increased by 1.8% and the unemployment rate dropped from 9.9% to 8.4%

The employed population in the Basque Country increased by 1.8% in relation to the fourth quarter of 2021, 17,100 more employed people, and the unemployment rate decreased by 1.5 percentage points (from 9.9% to 8.4%), with 15,000 fewer people unemployed in the Basque Country compared to the fourth quarter of 2021.

96.8% of average registered workers were in work, according to ILO criteria.

It is calculated that there were 924,000 registered workers for the quarter on average in the Basque Country, i.e. the number of individuals resident in the Basque Country who were registered for Social Security, weighted by the number of days worked in the quarter. Of those, the PRA estimates that 96.8% were employed, a total of 894,600 individuals, according to criteria from the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Amongst those employed according to ILO criteria in the PRA, 37,000 people, 4.1%, were not registered in the Social Security system, because they belonged to public mutual societies for civil servants, or because they were in other situations.

37.9% of those unemployed were not registered as unemployed with the Basque Employment Institute (Lanbide)

It is estimated that there was a quarterly average of 94,400 unemployed people registered with Lanbide, i.e. people residing in the Basque Country who were registered on Lanbide at the time of the survey in any one of the categories designated for registered unemployment. Of those, 54.7% were unemployed according to the ILO definition (51,600 people). 37.9% of unemployed people according to the ILO definition in the PRA were not registered as unemployed with Lanbide (33,500 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