- Employment accelerated in the fourth quarter, registering the highest inter-quarterly growth in this period since 2006
- The unemployment rate fell to 13.8%, the lowest in more than a decade, in a context of high growth of the active population, of 290,000 people in the last year
- The number of women employed continues to increase to 9.16 million, the highest figure in the historical series
- In the last year, indefinite employment increased by 414,200 people and full-time employment by 352,300
The number of people employed in the fourth quarter of the year amounts to 19,966,900, the highest figure in the last eleven years, according to the Active Population Survey (EPA), published today by the National Institute of Statistics.
Employment increased by 402,300 people in the last twelve months, representing a year-on-year increase of 2.06%. Employment accelerated in the fourth quarter, with 92,600 people employed, the highest quarter-on-quarter growth in this period since 2006.
The growth of the Spanish economy allowed the creation of 968,500 jobs between 2018 and 2019, which is higher than the one foreseen in the Stability Program sent by the Spanish Government to Brussels last April.
The number of women employed continued to increase to 9.16 million, the highest figure in the entire historical series, with a year-on-year growth of 2.77%, higher than that of total employment.
Job creation in the last year has focused mainly on the private sector, with 360,000 more employed and an annual growth of 2.2%. For its part, the public sector created 42,300 jobs, at a rate of 1.32%.
Employment has been created in all sectors, except Agriculture. In Services, 374,600 employed were registered more than in the same quarter of the previous year, in Industry, 55,400, and in Construction, 4,000.
The occupation in the last twelve months grew in almost all the Autonomous Communities. The increases in the Community of Madrid stand out, with 138,900 more employed, followed by Catalonia, with 87,000 and Andalusia with 45,800.
Indefinite employment grows at a rate much higher than that of total employment
In the fourth quarter the number of workers with an indefinite contract continued to increase, reaching 12,448,300, the highest figure in the entire historical series. It should be noted that in the last year indefinite employment grew by 414,200 people, while temporary employment was reduced by 21,600. In this way, indefinite hiring grew at a rate of 3.44% year-on-year, higher than that of total employment.
In these twelve months full-time employment has increased by 352,300 people, which represents 87.57% of the total increase in employment, and part-time employment by 50,100.
The unemployment rate is reduced to 13.8% with significant growth of the active population
Unemployment fell by 112,400 people in the last twelve months, standing at 3,191,900 (-3.4%). With this decrease, the unemployment rate stood at 13.8%, the lowest in the last 11 years.
It should be noted that this decline in unemployment occurs in a context of continued increase in the active population, which in the last year has increased by 290,000 people, reaching 23.16 million people and an annual growth rate of 1, 27%, the highest since the beginning of 2009.
Quarterly evolution
The number of employees increased by 92,600 people in the fourth quarter of 2019, the highest figure in a fourth quarter since 2006, representing a growth of 0.47%. In seasonally adjusted terms, the quarterly variation is 0.80%. The increase in employment was concentrated among women and, by age groups, between those over 40 and young people between 25 and 29 years. Increased employment in Services by 83,000 people, Agriculture, 47,600 and Construction, 14,000 and decreases in Industry by 52,100.
The number of unemployed decreased by 22,500 people in the last quarter of the year. The percentage of variation with respect to the previous quarter is -0.70% and with seasonally adjusted series of -2.76%. It is necessary to emphasize the high increase of the active population, that grew this quarter in 70,100 people. In this period, the decrease in unemployment stands out among those under 25 (-62,400) and among those seeking their first job (-58,000).
