Unemployment closes February with a slight drop

BarcelonaThe labour market gave another piece of good news in February, with a reduction in the total number of unemployed workers, according to data published this Tuesday by the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy. In Catalonia, the number of unemployed last month stood at 334,321, which represents a reduction of 2,318 people (0.69%) compared to with the month of January.

Compared to a year ago, Catalonia ended February with 12,052 fewer unemployed workers than in the same month in 2024, a reduction of 3.48%.

In Spain, unemployment fell by 0.23% last month, or by 5,994 people, bringing the total number of unemployed workers to 2,593,449, the lowest figure in 17 years for a month of February. Compared to February 2024, unemployment fell by 166,959 people across the country as a whole, a drop of 6.05%.

In fact, Catalonia is the second autonomous community with the sharpest reduction in unemployment, only surpassed by the drop of 6,074 people in the Valencian Community. Unemployment fell in nine territories and rose in eight, with the largest increase in unemployment recorded in the Community of Madrid, with an increase in unemployment of 4,172 people compared to the previous month.

More members

As regards the number of people affiliated to Social Security, the figure rose to 21.2 million in Spain, according to the state government. This represents an increase of 100,000 new contributors in February, the largest rise recorded since February 2007, just the year before the outbreak of the financial crisis. In Catalonia, the number of affiliates also grew, in this case by 23,373 people, which places the total number of employed workers at 3.77 million, the highest figure since 2012, when the Ministry of Inclusion and Social Security began the calculations.

[We are working to expand this information]