Vitoria (EFE).- The unemployment rate in the Basque Country rose to 8.7% in the first quarter of this year, two tenths more than at the end of the 2022 financial year.
However, in the last year, the unemployment rate has decreased from 9.1% in the first quarter of 2022 to 8.7% registered in the first three months of this year, the Basque Institute of Statistics (Eustat) has reported.
Between January and March 2023, the number of unemployed people, that is, those who are actively seeking employment and are available for work, was estimated at 92,100, which is 2,300 more than in the previous quarter.
The Basque Country closed 2022 with an average unemployment rate of 8.5% throughout the year, compared to 10% unemployment in 2021.
The unemployment rate for the fourth quarter, initially estimated at 8.4%, has been revised when updating the population data and has been definitively estimated at 8.5%, hence the quarter-on-quarter increase of two tenths of a percentage, Eustat sources have specified to Efe.
The group of unemployed men, who total 45,100, increased by 2,000 people so that the male unemployment rate stood at 8.3% (up 0.4 points), while the number of unemployed women did so by 200, up to a total of 47,000, and the rate was 9.3% (+0.1 percentage points) .
Rise in the three territories
Unemployment increased both among Spanish nationals, who were 67,700, that is, 2,200 more, and among foreigners (24,000, which is 100 more than in the previous quarter).
By province, in Bizkaia unemployed people rose by 2,600 and the unemployment rate grew 0.5 points to 9.8%. In Gipuzkoa there are 24,400 unemployed, 500 more, and the unemployment rate rose 0.1 points to 7%. In Álava, the number of unemployed fell by 700 and the unemployment rate by half a point to stand at 8.8%.
By capital, unemployment increased by 500 people in Bilbao, on the other hand, in Vitoria it fell by 900 people and in San Sebastián by 1,400 compared to the previous quarter.
The unemployment rate in the Basque Country in this first quarter is 4.1 percentage points below the average for Spain, where it rises to 12.8%, according to the Statistical Office of the European Union, where in February this indicator was 6 %.
According to the latest forecasts from the Basque Government, 2023 could end with an unemployment rate of 8.2%, a percentage that is expected to drop to 8% in 2024.
decrease in occupation
The data for the first quarter also reveal that there were 2,100 less employed people in the Basque Country than in the previous quarter, with a total of 960,800, 0.2% less than in the fourth quarter of last year. In the last year, employed persons have risen by 5,600 and the unemployed have fallen by 3,800.
As a result of the evolution of the employed population and the unemployed, the activity rate is 56.3%, 0.1 percentage points less than in the previous quarter.
By province, in Bizkaia employment decreased by 4,400 people, in Gipuzkoa by 200 and in Álava it increased by 2,500. Regarding the capitals, in Bilbao the occupation fell by 200 people, while in San Sebastián it rose by 1,700 and in Vitoria by 2,300.
The greatest decline in employment occurred among women (-1,300), while among men it fell by 800 and by sectors it grew in industry and services and fell in the primary sector and construction
The employment rate, calculated as the percentage of employed people between the ages of 16 and 64 over the total for that segment of the population, fell 0.6 points to stand at 69.1%. It is higher in Gipuzkoa (71.2%) than in Álava (69%) and Bizkaia (67.8%).
32,000 households with all unemployed
Eustat also highlights that there has been an increase of 2,500 households in which all active people are unemployed and there are 32,200.
On the other hand, six out of ten homes have all the active people employed, 3,900 fewer families.
In addition, it is estimated that there are some 908,200 households in the Basque Country and in a third of them there is no active person, 2,100 more families than in the previous quarter.
Faced with the decrease in employment compared to the previous quarter, in the year-on-year comparison it can be seen that the employed population has increased compared to the first three months of 2022 by 0.6%, 5,600 more people, and the unemployment rate in the Basque Country has dropped 0.4 percentage points (from 9.1% to 8.7%), with which 3,800 people have stopped being unemployed.