Spain: Unemployment rate rises in third quarter of the year
The jobless rate rose to 12.7% in Q3 from 12.5% in Q2. The figure was marred by an increase in labor force. In absolute terms, the number of unemployed workers increased to 3.0 million in Q3, up from Q2s 29 million.
That said, jobs were added in Q3. The services sector added the most jobs (+114,300), followed by the industrial segment (+33,100), while the agricultural sector (-60,300) and the construction sector (-9,400) shed jobs. Overall, a total of 77,700 jobs were added from the prior quarter. For its part, the workforce rose by 138,500 people in Q3 to a total of 23.5 million.
Commenting on the release, Wouter Thierie, economist at ING, stated:
“All in all, despite a slight rise in the unemployment rate in the third quarter, the labour market remains very tight. The bleak economic outlook, which is already prompting companies to be more cautious about new hires, will ease the pressure on the labour market in the coming months. We expect the unemployment rate to rise further to 14.3% in 3Q23, partly held back by a higher number of permanent contracts, before slowing down again”.