Press Release 18/07/2024

SURVEY ON POPULATION IN RELATION TO ACTIVITY. II/2024

The number of people out of work in the Basque Country fell by 4,500 and the unemployment rate dropped to 7.5% in the second quarter of 2024

There were 11,700 more people in work and a total of 992,600 employed people resident in the Basque Country, exceeding the maximum for the third quarter of 2008

Data from the second quarter of 2024 on the labour market in the Basque Country showed 11,700 more people in work and 4,500 fewer unemployed people than in the previous quarter, according to Eustat data. There were an estimated 80,100 unemployed people and the figure for people in work stood at 992,600 in this second quarter of 2024. The unemployment rate of the Basque Country stood at 7.5%, four percentage points down on the first quarter of 2024. As a result of the evolution in the employed and unemployed population, the activity rate stood at 56.6% in the second quarter of 2024, two tenths more than the previous quarter.

By province and compared to the previous quarter, there were 6,400 more people in work in Bizkaia, 4,200 more in Gipuzkoa and 1,200 more in Álava. As regards to the capitals, there were 2,400 more people in work in San Sebastián, 1,800 more in Vitoria-Gasteiz, and 1,600 more in Bilbao.

The greatest increase in employment occurred among women (+8,300), whilst there were 3,400 more men in work. With regards to nationality, the number of Spanish nationals in work increased by 11,200 (+1.3%) and the number of foreign nationals in work rose by 500 (+0.6%).

Employment increased in all sectors except Industry

The employed population in the Basque Country rose by 10,100 in the services sector (+1.4%), by 1000 in the primary sector (11.8%) and by 900 in the construction sector (+1.7%); however, the number of people working in industry fell by 300 (-0.2%).

The employment rate, calculated as the percentage of people in work aged 16 to 64 over the total for these ages, increased by one percentage point compared to the previous quarter, standing at 70.9%. This figure rose to 73.9% for men and 67.9% for women.

As regards nationality, the highest employment rate was recorded among Spanish nationals at 72.9%, up 1.1 percentage points in respect of the previous quarter; whereas for foreign nationals this rose by 0.4 points to stand at 55.9%.

By province, Gipuzkoa had the highest employment rate, at 72.8%, an increase of nine percentage points compared to the previous quarter. Álava was in second place with 70.8%, increasing by one percentage point; lastly, in Bizkaia, the employment rate also rose by one percentage point to stand at 69.7%.

In relation to the types of contracts of salaried individuals, the number of people with permanent contracts increased by 10,900 in respect of the previous quarter and, in relation to the previous year, it rose by 31,500 people.

In six out of every ten households all active individuals were employed

In the second quarter of 2024 it was estimated that there were 922,100 households in the Basque Country, of which a third did not have any active individuals, 2,100 fewer households than in the previous quarter. In almost six out of every ten households, all of the active individuals were in work, 5,400 more families; furthermore, households where all active individuals were unemployed stood at 28,300, 1,000 fewer households than in the previous quarter.

The second quarter of 2024 posted an unemployment rate of 7.5%

The unemployed population in the Basque Country, i.e. people who are available for work, actively making enquiries and seeking employment, was estimated to be 80,100 in the second quarter of the year. The number of unemployed women, 39,400 individuals, decreased by 2,400, while the number of unemployed men saw a drop of 2,100, reaching a total of 40,700 for the quarter.

The data for the second quarter of 2024 revealed an unemployment rate of 7.5%, 0.4 percentage points less than the previous quarter. The unemployment rate for women dropped 0.6 percentage points to 7.6%, and the unemployment rate for men stood at 7.3% (-0.4 percentage points).

With regards to nationality, the unemployed population figure decreased among foreign nationals by 4,000, standing at 22,200; among Spanish nationals it was down by 400, to 57,900 people out of work.

By province, in Gipuzkoa, the number of unemployed people fell by 2,400 to stand at 19,700, and the unemployment rate decreased by 0.7 percentage points, standing at 5.6%. In Bizkaia, with 47,800 people out of work, the number of unemployed fell by 2,000 and the unemployment rate decreased by half a percentage point to 8.6%. In Álava, the number of unemployed people remained unchanged (12,600) and the unemployment rate dropped 0.1 percentage points to stand at 7.7%.

As regards the capitals, there were 2,400 fewer unemployed people in Bilbao, 500 fewer in San Sebastián and 400 fewer in Vitoria-Gasteiz, in respect of the previous quarter.

According to EUROSTAT (the Statistical Office of the European Union), in May 2024 the deseasonalised unemployment rate of the European Union as a whole stood at 6% and that of Spain was 11.7%.

Compared to the second quarter of 2023, the number of people employed rose by 2% and the unemployment rate fell by one tenth

Last year, in comparison with the second quarter of 2023, there were 19,300 more people in work, an increase of 2%. There were 13,600 more people working in the services sector; 7,300 more in industry; and 600 more in the primary sector. There were 2,200 fewer people working in the construction sector. As regards unemployed people, the unemployment rate fell by one tenth of a percentage point (from 7.6% to 7.5%), which meant there were 500 fewer people out of work in the Basque Country.

97.2% of average registered workers were in work, according to ILO criteria

It is calculated that there were 944,400 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 97.2% were employed, a total of 918,000 individuals, according to criteria from the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Amongst those employed according to ILO criteria in the PRA, 38,100 people (3.8%) 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.

41.8% of unemployed people were not registered as being unemployed

It is estimated that there was a quarterly average of 87,200 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, 52.4% were unemployed according to the ILO definition (45,700 people). 41.8% 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 seeker.

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