Social Security affiliation continues to grow despite a rise in unemployment in February
Unemployment has risen for the third consecutive month in Catalonia, but remains below the levels of a year ago.
BarcelonaSocial Security affiliation continued to grow in February in both Catalonia and Spain, although, in parallel, unemployment rose again for the third consecutive month. However, the number of unemployed last month was lower than the figures recorded a year ago, according to employment data published this Tuesday by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. In Spain, the same pattern was repeated, with the total number of unemployed workers increasing, but with figures lower than those of February 2015. Specifically, at the end of February in Catalonia, there were 327,253 workers seeking employment, 2,039 more than in January, an increase of 0.63%. Thus, the Catalan labor market has now seen three months of rising unemployment, which in June reached its lowest level since 2008 (when the financial crisis and the housing bubble burst) with just over 315,000 unemployed. Despite three months of increases, the unemployment figures remained 2.11% below the levels of February of last year, when there were 7,088 more unemployed than last month.
Nationwide, unemployment also rose, in this case by 3,584 people (0.15%) compared to January, reaching 2,442,646 unemployed. As in the case of Catalonia, despite the increase, unemployment remained below the levels of a year earlier, and in the last 12 months it has decreased by 150,803 people, or 5.84%.
More members
The rise in unemployment contrasts with the growth in the number of workers affiliated with Social Security, which increased again in February. In Catalonia, the increase was 23,564 more contributors than in January, a rise of 0.63%, bringing the total to more than 3.85 million affiliated individuals. Compared to the same month a year ago, the increase is 74,742 people, or 1.95%. Across Spain, the total number of affiliated workers also rose by 97,000 between January and February, reaching 21.67 million workers registered with Social Security. This figure represents an increase of 2.24%, or 474,000 people, compared to February 2025.
