- Unemployment falls by 471,100 people and the unemployment rate stands at 16.55%, the lowest for a fourth quarter since the recession
- The number of salaried employees with permanent employment has increased by 357,900, while the temporary rises by 179,200
- Most of the employment has been created in the private sector, with 401,700 new jobs, almost five times more than in the public
- Full-time employment increases by more than half a million, while hiring part-time decreases by 27,600
- The number of households with all their assets unemployed falls by 177,200 and grows by 331,300, all of which are occupied.
The Spanish economy touched the 19 million employed at the end of 2017, after increasing by almost half a million in the last year, according to data from the Survey of the Active Population (EPA) published by the INE. Employment grows at an annual rate of 2.65% and chains four years of recovery, in parallel with the evolution of the economy. Unemployment is cut by 471,100 people and the unemployment rate stands at 16.55%, with a fall of 2.09 points in the last year. The percentage of unemployed over the active population has fallen more than ten points from the highest peak of the recession and is the lowest since its inception for a fourth quarter. Most of the employment created in the last year is full-time, permanent, and concentrated in the private sector.
These data correspond to the EPA for the fourth quarter of 2017, the results of which are affected, as usual, by seasonal factors. In relation to the third quarter, employment has fallen by 50,900 people (0.27%) and the number of unemployed has increased by 34,900 (0.94%). The unemployment rate has risen slightly, 16 hundredths, to 16.55% of the active population. Employees with permanent contracts have increased by 118,800 in the quarter, while those with temporary contracts have decreased by 102,900. In the quarter, employment has been created in the public sector (12,700), while in the private sector it has decreased (63,500). Full-time employment was also lower (130,400) compared to the increase in part-time (79,600).
The annual data, that is, compared to the fourth quarter of 2016, eliminates this seasonality factor and allows a greater perspective. 2017 is the fourth year of job creation, at an annual rate of around half a million new jobs. At the end of last year, 490,300 more jobs were recorded than in the last quarter of 2016. In total, 18.99 million people were employed in Spain on that date, although still below the 20 million target of the Government for this Legislature. Last year employment grew at a rate of 2.65%, which means that most of the economic growth is translated into new jobs.
These new jobs are mostly open-ended for the year as a whole. Regarding total employees, permanent employment has increased by 357,900, compared to 179,200 temporary. The temporary employment rate stood at 26.71%, 23 hundredths higher than that of a year earlier. Faced with temporary maximums of 35% prior to the crisis, almost 75% of wage earners in Spain currently have permanent employment. All employment has been created full time in the last twelve months (517,900) while 27,600 part time jobs have been destroyed. The bias rate is also low in Spain, since it stands at 14.77% of the total. Most of the employment has been created in the private sector, 401,700 new jobs, almost five times more than in the public (88,700).
Unemployment has also seen declines in the last four years, falling by 471,100 in the last quarter of 2017 compared to a year earlier, 11.12% less. The total number of unemployed is thus reduced to 3,766,700, the second lowest since the first quarter of 2009. The unemployment rate has fallen 2.09 points in the last year, to 16.55%, and slightly more than ten from the peak of the crisis (first quarter of 2013) and the best data for a fourth quarter since the recession. The number of households with all their active members unemployed has dropped to 1,210,500, after falling by 177,200 in the last year, while those with all their active members occupied has risen to 331,300 and stands at 10,215.00
