Unemployment rose by 103,800 people between January and March, which is 3.4% more than in the previous quarter, while employment fell by 11,100 jobs (-0.05%), its smallest decrease in a first quarter since 2007, says the EPA published today by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). At the end of March there were a total of 3,127,800 unemployed and 20,452,800 employed.
It is the highest rate of increase in unemployment for a first quarter of the year since 2020, when the pandemic broke out and led to 121,000 losing their jobs. In the same period last year, unemployment rose by 70,900 people, less than it did in 2023. This increase, the largest in the last five first quarters of the year, is framed by the strong increase in the active population to reach the maximum of the historical series, up to a total of 23,580,500 people.
The active population grew by more than 321,000 people in the last 12 months, after registering the highest increase in a first quarter, and is close to the maximum of 23.6 million workers.
The unemployment rate rose by almost four tenths in the first quarter, up to 13.26%, its highest value since the first quarter of 2022, with a stable activity rate of 58.55%, or what is the same , 92,700 more active people between January and March (0.4%). The total number of unemployed stood at 3,127,800 people and the unemployment rate fell four tenths compared to a year ago.
In seasonally adjusted terms, that is, without taking into account the influence of the calendar on the statistics, the unemployment rate stands at 13.26%, which is 39 hundredths more than in the previous quarter, and in the last year the rate has fallen by 38 hundredths. Thus, without the calendar effect, employment increased by 1.2%, the biggest increase in the last five first quarters of the year.
In the last year (first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022), unemployment has fallen by 1.5%, with 47,000 fewer unemployed, and 368,000 jobs have been created (1.8%), while that the volume of assets has increased by 321,100 people (1.4%).
Employment increased this quarter in services (7,800 more people) and decreased in industry (11,200 less), in agriculture (-5,000) and in construction (-2,700). In the last year, employment also grew in services (372,200 more employed persons) and in industry (93,500), and decreased in agriculture (-79,500) and in construction (-18,200).
The number of employed stands at almost 20.5 million workers, with an increase of 368,000 in the last 12 months. In the last year there are more than 368,00 employed people (1.8%) reaching 20,453,800 employed, the highest level in a first quarter since 2008.
The number of wage earners fell in the first quarter by 23,200 people (-0.1%), concentrating all the adjustment in temporary employment (-117,000), since wage earners with a permanent contract increased between January and March by 93,800 ( 0 .66%), to exceed 14.35 million. Thus, the temporary employment rate fell six tenths, to the all-time low of 17.28%. In the last year there has been an increase of 1.5 million employed persons with a permanent contract.
Full-time employment decreased this quarter by 34,700 people, while part-time employment increased by 23,600. The percentage of employed people who work part-time rose 12 hundredths, to 13.72%. In interannual variation, full-time employment increased by 372,000 people while part-time employment decreased by 4,000.
The number of employees decreased this quarter by 23,200. Those with an indefinite contract increased by 93,800, while those with a temporary contract decreased by 117,000, with which the temporary employment rate fell 0.65 hundredths, to 17.28%.
In the last 12 months the number of wage earners has increased by 419,800. Permanent employment has increased by 1,520,800 people and temporary employment has decreased by 1,101,000. The total number of self-employed workers grows by 12,100 people in quarterly variation and decreases by 43,400 in the last year.
By communities, the autonomous communities where unemployment rose the most in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the last quarter of 2022 have been the Balearic Islands (48,000 more unemployed), the Canary Islands (33,500) and Catalonia (20,000), and the greatest decreases occurred in Andalusia ( -19,100), Community of Madrid (-16,200) and Principality of Asturias (-6,700).
In year-on-year comparison, with respect to the same quarter of the previous year, where unemployment rises the most is in the Valencian Community (34,600), Catalonia (13,000) and Castilla-La Mancha (10,300) and where it falls lowest is in the Canary Islands (32,100 less), Andalusia (-30,000) and Community of Madrid (-27,000).
