Press Release 20/10/2023

SURVEY ON POPULATION IN RELATION TO ACTIVITY. III/2023

The population in work increased by 4,300 and the unemployment rate stood at 7.5% in the third quarter of 2023 in the Basque Country

In the last year, the number of employed people decreased by 4,700 and the unemployment rate dropped from 8% to 7.5%.

Data from the third quarter of 2023 on the labour market in the Basque Country showed 4,300 more people in work and 1,300 more unemployed people than in the previous quarter, according to Eustat data. There were an estimated 78,900 unemployed people this quarter and the figure for people in work stood at 975,900 in the second quarter of 2023.

The unemployment rate for the Basque Country stood at 7.5%, one tenth of a percentage point more than in the second quarter of 2023. As a result of the evolution in the employed and unemployed population, the activity rate was 56.3% in the third quarter of 2023, up 0.2 percentage points on the previous quarter.

By province and compared to the previous quarter, there were 3,600 more people in work in Bizkaia, 400 more in Álava and 300 more in Gipuzkoa. Regarding the capitals, in San Sebastián there were 1,400 more people in work; however, employment decreased in Vitoria-Gasteiz (-400) and in Bilbao (-1,700).

The highest rise in employment was among men (+3,300), whilst there were 1,000 more women in work. With regards to nationality, the number of Spanish nationals in work increased by 2,900 (+0.3%), whilst the number of foreign nationals in work rose by 1,400 (+1.6%).

The working population increased in all sectors, except the primary sector

The working population in the Basque country increased by 2,500 (+1.3%) in Industry, by 2,100 (+0.3%) in Services and by 200 (+0.4%) in Construction, whilst in the primary sector it fell by 400 (-4.6%).

The employment rate, calculated as the percentage of people in work aged 16 to 64 over the total for these ages, rose 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, standing at 70.4%. This figure reached 73.4% for men and 67.4% for women

As regards nationality, the highest employment rate was recorded among Spanish nationals, at 72%, up 0.3 percentage points in respect of the previous quarter, whereas for foreign nationals it rose by eight tenths to stand at 57.6%.

By province, Gipuzkoa had the highest employment rate, with 72.2% and an increase of 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous quarter; in second place was Bizkaia with 69.7%, up 0.4 percentage points in respect of the previous quarter; and, finally, in Álava the employment rate rose by 0.4 percentage points to stand at 69.3%.

In relation to the types of contracts of salaried individuals, the number of people with permanent contracts increased by 5,800 in respect of the previous quarter and, in relation to the previous year, it rose by 41,500 people.

In six out of every ten households all the active individuals were employed and there were 900 fewer households where all the active individuals were unemployed

In the third quarter of 2023 it was estimated that there were 909,100 households in the Basque Country, of which a third did not have any active individuals, 4,800 fewer households than in the previous quarter. In almost six out of every ten households, all of the active individuals were in work, 7,700 more families; furthermore, households where all active individuals were unemployed stood at 25,000, 900 fewer households than in the previous quarter.

The third quarter of 2023 revealed an unemployment rate of 7.5%, 0.1 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 78,900 in the third quarter of the year, 1,300 more than in the previous quarter. The number of unemployed men, 40,000, increased by 800, whilst the number of unemployed women rose by 500, reaching a total of 38,900 for the quarter.

The data for the third quarter of 2023 revealed an unemployment rate of 7.5%, 0.1 percentage points more than the previous quarter. The unemployment rate for women rose by 0.1 percentage points to 7.7% and the unemployment rate for men stood at 7.3% (+0.1 percentage points).

With regards to nationality, the unemployed population figure decreased among Spanish nationals by 500, to stand at 57,400. Among foreign nationals it increased by 2,000, to 21,600 people out of work.

By province, in Álava, the number of unemployed people increased by 1,400 and the unemployment rate was up 0.8 percentage points, standing at 7.8%. In Gipuzkoa, with 22,000 people out of work, the number of unemployed people rose by 500 and the unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points to 6.3%. In Bizkaia, the number of unemployed people fell by 400 and the unemployment rate dropped 0.1 percentage points to stand at 8.1%.

As regards the capitals, there were 1,700 more unemployed people in Vitoria-Gasteiz; however, there were 900 fewer unemployed people in Bilbao and 1,300 fewer in San Sebastián in respect of the previous quarter.

According to EUROSTAT, the Statistical Office of the European Union, in August 2023 the deseasonalised unemployment rate of the European Union as a whole stood at 5.9% and that of Spain stood at 11.5%.

Over the last year, the number of employed people increased by 0.9% and the unemployment rate dropped from 8% to 7.5%

The employed population in the Basque Country increased by 0.9% in relation to the third quarter of 2022, 8,400 more people in work, and the unemployment rate decreased by 0.5 percentage points (from 8% to 7.5%), with 4,700 fewer people unemployed in the Basque Country compared to the third quarter of 2022.

96.9% of average registered workers were in work, according to ILO criteria.

It is calculated that there were 926,300 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 96.9% were employed, a total of 897,800 individuals, according to criteria from the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Amongst those employed according to ILO criteria in the PRA, 34,800 people (3.6%) 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.

41.4% of unemployed people were not registered as being unemployed

It is estimated that there was a quarterly average of 88,600 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, 49.1% were unemployed according to the ILO definition (43,500 people). 41.4% of unemployed people according to the ILO definition in the PRA were not registered as unemployed with Lanbide (32,700 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