Catalonia loses 47,940 jobs in the worst January in the last thirteen years

BarcelonaJanuary is always a challenging month for the job market, following the loss of many contracts at the end of the Christmas season. The total number of registered workers in Catalonia started the year with a drop of 47,941 compared to December, a 1.24% decrease, according to data published Tuesday by the Ministry of Social Security. This is the sharpest decline, at least, since 2013, when hiring practices were still heavily influenced by the devastating effects of the Great Recession.

Even so, this is the highest figure ever recorded for a January in the entire historical series. There are now 3.82 million registered workers in Catalonia, 73,551 more than at the beginning of 2015. "When the Christmas holidays and shopping are over, this has a typical January impact," argued the Secretary of Labor of the Generalitat, Paco Ramos, during his assessment of the data. Meanwhile, the figures have been heavily influenced by the performance of the labor market in the Barcelona area, where 70% of the loss of Social Security affiliations occurred.

Across Spain, 2016 also began with a sharp decline in employment: 270,782 people lost their Social Security affiliations compared to December, representing a 1.24% drop. This is the worst reduction for a January since 2012. However, compared to a year earlier, there are 477,818 more people working in the country, reaching a record high of 21.53 million. In absolute terms, Catalonia saw the largest decrease in affiliations in January, followed by Andalusia (-41,461) and the Community of Madrid (-37,448).

Increase in unemployment

Regarding unemployment, the Principality also began the new year with an increase in jobless registrations. The number of people registered with employment services rose by 1,978, bringing the total to 325,214, an increase of 0.61%, according to data published this Tuesday by the Ministry of Labor. This increase is higher than in January of last year, when 1,444 new unemployed were added, although the reduction in unemployment over the last twelve months is 3.4%. Furthermore, this is the January with the fewest unemployed since 2008. The trend this January is mainly explained by the contribution of the services sector, the only sector in which unemployment rose, by 2,637 people. Conversely, it fell in construction (-338), industry (-151), and agriculture (-59). Ramos explained that this downturn has been concentrated especially in the retail sector, coinciding with the end of the Christmas shopping season. The increase in unemployment at the beginning of this year has affected women more (+1,500) than men (+478), and has also risen among those under 25 (+1,082). The Secretary of Labor highlighted that 189,227 contracts were signed in Catalonia in January, 2.58% more than in December due to the boost in permanent contracts, but 2.92% less than in the same month of 2015. The regions with the highest increases were Andalusia (+8,046 people), the Community of Madrid (+3,659), and Galicia (+3,113). Across Spain, January saw an increase of 30,392 unemployed, bringing the total to 2,439,062 citizens registered with employment services, a 1.26% rise compared to December but 6.17% lower than in January 2015. The Secretary of State for Labor, Joaquín Pérez Rey, described this increase in unemployment as "moderate": "We remain below 2,500,000, and this is the best unemployment figure recorded in eighteen years, since 2007."

Ramos also commented the announcement by the Spanish government of the regularization of half a million migrants"It's good for people who are currently working without legal status." Although he stated that the Catalan government has no estimates on how many people will obtain work permits in Catalonia thanks to this measure, the high-ranking official said they are working with the central government to coordinate the operational aspects of this process and prevent overcrowding and long queues at employment services.