Catalonia adds 47,200 new unemployed in the worst start to the year since 2012.

BarcelonaCatalonia was the autonomous community where unemployment grew the most in the first quarter, with a weak start to the year for the labor market, according to data published this Monday in the Active Population Survey (EPA) prepared by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). Specifically, 47,200 new jobless cases were registered, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 14.3%.

These data represent the worst start to the year since 2012, when unemployment increased by 62,500 people in absolute terms. The total number of unemployed people is now 376,400, and the unemployment rate has risen again to 8.91%, after having fallen below 8% for the first time in sixteen years at the end of last year.

2025 also didn't get off to a good start in terms of employment, coinciding with the already common contract destruction after the Christmas shopping season. The number of employed people fell by 5,900 to 3,850,100 workers, a decline of 0.15%. However, looking at the last year, the labor market has added 66,300 workers in the Principality, a 1.75% increase.

Unemployment also increased by 193,700 people during the first quarter in Spain, an increase of 7.46% compared to the end of 2024. In this case, it is the worst start to a year since 2013, in the midst of the Great Recession. Thus, there are now 2,789,200 unemployed people in the State and the unemployment rate in March climbed to 11.4%, 0.75 points higher than in the last quarterly edition of this statistical report.

At the start of this year, 92,500 jobs were lost in Spain, a 0.4% decline in employment. This places the labor market at around 21.8 million workers contributing to Social Security. However, the Ministry of Economy has reinforced the idea that the data is less pessimistic when viewed on a seasonally adjusted basis: excluding calendar effects, employment grew by 0.7%, with 159,700 more workers, and the number of workers exceeded 22 million for the first time.

Slower pace in the labor market

In the last twelve months, the total number of unemployed people in Spain fell by 188,700. "These data demonstrate the dynamism of the labor market, as the pace of job creation is maintained, with more stable employment and higher value-added sectors," indicate sources from the Ministry of Economy.

All the jobs created in the last year were in the private sector, with more than 567,000 new employees, while the public sector has continued to decline. By sector, the INE highlights the growth of employment in healthcare, professional and auxiliary activities, and information and communication. Specifically, the programming, consulting, and IT sector has grown by more than 6.6% in one year.