Spain: Unemployment rate rises in fourth quarter of the year
The jobless rate rose to 12.9% in Q4 from 12.7% in Q3. The figure was marred by a decrease in labor force. In absolute terms, the number of unemployed workers increased by 43,800 people to 3.0 million in Q4.
Moreover, jobs were shed in Q4. The services sector shed the most jobs (-70,100), followed by the construction (-28,100) and the industrial sectors (-8,000), while the agricultural sector (+24,200) added jobs. Overall, a total of 81,900 jobs were shed from the prior quarter. For its part, the workforce declined by 38,100 people in Q4 to a total of 23.5 million.
Commenting on the release, Wouter Thierie, economist at ING, stated:
“The war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, and sharp price increases have had a major impact on Spanish companies. However, we should not forget that the labour market always reacts to economic cycles with some delay. Therefore, we will not see the effect of the energy crisis on unemployment figures until this year. On the other hand, a major turnaround seems unlikely in the short term. Given the difficult economic conditions, hiring dynamics and company vacancies are still decent”.