6,300 fewer unemployed in March in Catalonia
The number of unemployed falls again below four million in Spain as a whole
There were 6,390 fewer unemployed in Catalonia in March, which represents a 1.25% fall compared to February. This puts the total number of unemployed workers at 505,900, according to data published on Tuesday by the Ministry of Labour. Compared to March last year, the month in which the coronavirus pandemic broke out and the Spanish government declared a state of alarm, the number of unemployed in Catalonia has risen by 88,853.
At Spanish level, unemployment fell by 59,194 people compared to the previous month, which puts the total number of unemployed in the whole of Spain at 3,949,640, below the four million mark reached in February. According to the ministry, this is the "third best data" of occupation recorded in a month of March since records began and the best since 2015. However, despite the decrease, the number of unemployed in Catalonia still remains above the symbolic barrier of half a million.
Unemployment had been on the rise ever since July 2020, which saw the smallest number of unemployed since the 2009 crisis. However, the main increase occurred in April 2020, the first month completely affected by the pandemic, and continued to grow until the summer, when it fell slightly thanks to the partial reopening of tourism and hospitality.
With the following waves of contagions registered in autumn and last winter, however, the number of workers out of work increased up to 500,000 last January, a situation last experienced in February 2016.
Girona and Tarragona lead the reduction
As usual, unemployment has affected more women, who represent 54.9% of the unemployed in Catalonia. By areas, in Barcelona there were 3,531 fewer unemployed than a month ago (-0.95%), while in Girona there were 1,395 fewer (-2.73%), in Tarragona 1,312 (-2.09%) and in Lleida 152 fewer (-0.55%).
Foreigners have also been hit harder. Of the near half a million unemployed in Catalonia, more than 118,000 were foreign citizens, 545 fewer than in February but over 31,000 more than a year before. About 90,000 of these were non-EU citizens and 28,000 were citizens of member states of the European Union.
At State level, the number of unemployed foreigners exceeded 584,000, of which 381,000 were from outside the EU.
