This year, May Day arrives amidst a climate of uncertainty for thousands of workers in the country. The start of 2026 has not been particularly good for employment: according to the Active Population Survey (EPA) published this Tuesday, Catalonia added 84,400 unemployed people in absolute terms between January and March, which confirms the worst inter-quarterly increase since 2009. This figure places the unemployment rate at 10.12%, compared to 8.24% at the end of last year. In contrast, for the country as a whole, the unemployment rate was 10.83%, the lowest level in a first quarter since 2008.

New plot twist in the future of Parlem Telecom. One month after the non-integration with Avatel, a series of debts amounting to 16.6 million euros loom over the Catalan telecom operator. Specifically, as read from the annual results provided by the company to the BME Growth, various credits made by Inveready – investor fund owner of Avatel and shareholder of Parlem – and its main holder, Josep Maria Echarri, have moved to short-term maturity after various financial ratios established in the financing contracts (covenants) were breached during the previous fiscal year. “There is a short-term liquidity risk,” acknowledges the auditor in the annual accounts presented this Thursday.

The industrial sector warns of a major mismatch between training supply and labor demand in the sector. A study carried out by KPMG, along with Amec (the national association of exporting companies), the College of Industrial Engineers of Catalonia, the FemCAT foundation, and the Foundation for Industry, indicates that 58% of the positions required by the sector cannot be filled: while 26,000 positions are opened annually in industrial companies, only 11,000 people are trained for the sector each year.

The pharmaceutical company Bayer billed 787 million euros in 2025 in Spain. The figure represents a drop of 4% compared to the previous year, in which the firm achieved sales of 822 million. As explained by the CEO of the Bayer subsidiary in Spain, Jordi Sánchez, the drop in billing is mainly due to the withdrawal from the market of the insecticide Movento, which has been banned in Europe. This impact has been particularly noticeable in the sales of the company's agricultural division –the Crop Science area–, which has reduced sales by 20%, to 227 million euros.

A tool to guarantee budgetary execution in Catalonia. The Government, Esquerra Republicana, and a large part of the business world have joined forces this Monday to present the Investment Consortium, a body that aims to manage and plan state investments in Catalan territory. The proposal, born in 2024 from the investiture agreement between the PSC and ERC, seeks to provide solutions to an “endemic problem” in the country, as stated by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Alícia Romero, who added that it will be a “good instrument” to improve Catalonia’s “competitiveness”.

The Government is launching a new service to bring access to the Generalitat's in-person procedures and services closer to more than 600,000 Catalans. Starting Monday, five vehicles will travel through rural areas and poorly connected territories so that citizens can carry out the procedures they need from their municipality. The five mobile Citizen Service Offices (OAC) will serve a total of 200 municipalities; specifically, each vehicle will cover 40 towns. And, as stated by the Department of the Presidency of the Generalitat, routes have been defined to "guarantee balanced and homogeneous coverage of the entire country." For 2026 and 2027, the Generalitat will invest approximately 2.43 million euros in this service.

A few days before the first anniversary of the electrical blackout on April 28th, new details about its possible causes continue to emerge. This Friday, the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) explained that it has initiated several sanctioning proceedings to determine the circumstances of the blackout. Thus, the regulatory body assures that, as a result of the investigations, "various indications of non-compliance" have been detected, some of which have been maintained for "prolonged periods of time," which could constitute administrative infractions.

The Catalan family group specializing in irrigation systems and the production of phytosanitary products MatHolding closed 2025 with a record turnover of 429 million euros, representing an increase of 6% compared to the previous year. Coinciding with the company's ninetieth anniversary, the industrial group has also improved its ebitda –a financial indicator that shows a company's operating profit before deducting interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization– by 16%: it has increased to 65 million.

The impact of the war in the Middle East reduces global economic growth by two tenths for this year. While in the latest report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – published in January – an impulse of 3.3% was projected globally, after the outbreak of the conflict and the derivative of the energy crisis, an advance of 3.1% is now forecast. The entity's forecast is based on the assumption that the war will be resolved by mid-year, but the organization also presents two more adverse scenarios in which the impact of the conflict would be even greater: an intermediate one in which the economy would be reduced by eight tenths, to 2.5%, and the worst, in which global growth would fall to 2%. The new forecast also assumes three tenths less growth than registered during 2025, when it grew by 3.4%.

A vanilla ice cream inside a plastic casing shaped like a toucan. In mid-March, the ice cream maker La Menorquina announced that they would discontinue the mythical Punky, the company's vanilla ice cream marketed with a very original wrapper. "New generations are looking for other things and adults... well, you remember it with affection, but you're too embarrassed to ask for it in public," explained the Minorcan-Catalan company on its social networks. From here on, the island's most famous toucan became a viral phenomenon on social media; especially thanks to an Instagram account that dedicated itself to demanding its return with a handful of pranks at La Menorquina's offices.

"Europe must be strategically autonomous in everything possible, also in the defense sector". The Government announces the creation of a new program to train 400 Catalan companies so that they can enter the security and defense sector. As announced this Friday by the Minister of Business and Labor, Miquel Sàmper, the new program – called Dual Technology & Industry Readiness Programme– will be aimed at introducing SMEs that are dedicated to automotive, space, metallurgy and machinery with dual technologies into the market. The plan foresees offering sessions where key aspects will be discussed for those who wish to invest in the defense and security market, such as the various certifications necessary to operate, the homologation processes that must be carried out, and the access routes to state and European contracting processes.

The crisis in energy markets stemming from the war in the Middle East will worsen "significantly" heading into April compared to March, according to the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol. The Turkish director, who visited the podcast of Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), explained that while during the last month shipments from the Middle East were still arriving at ports, by April "there will be nothing".

In April 2022, the major labor reform by Yolanda Díaz came into effect. The Minister of Labor promised that the new measures would foster a profound transformation of the Spanish labor market and combat one of its endemic problems: high temporality. Four years later, however, can we say that the initiative has achieved its main objective? According to Jordi Garcia, professor of Labor Law and Social Security at the University of Barcelona, no. "Or at least that's what it seems with the little data they provide," he assures. Different reports, such as one published a few weeks ago by the liberal think tank Fundación Civismo, agree with the expert and say that the changes have been, truly, "statistical".

"The conflict in the Middle East will test the resilience of the global economy." No beating around the bush. The new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) revises its growth forecasts taking into account the impact of the war initiated in Iran.

Two residents of Sabadell have filed a lawsuit against Sareb —the so-called bad bank— after the entity is demanding more than three million euros from them for a mortgage they never took out, neither directly nor voluntarily. According to the lawsuit, which has already been accepted for processing, the affected parties—now deceased—never received the money they are now being asked to return. In fact, as the lawsuit explains, the loan was granted to a third party: the real estate developer Wilder Bay SL, which subsequently went into administration. From then on, the mortgage debt was subject to several financial transfers until it reached Sareb, which is now demanding repayment from the daughters of the deceased neighbors, aged 79 and 74.

The Association of Rental Property Owners (Asval) announced on Tuesday the creation of a permanent commission in Catalonia. During the presentation, Asval asserted that they need greater legal certainty and a more ""Clear, stable, and predictable." In fact, the association's new delegate in Catalonia, Carlos Muñoz, has asserted that this lack of legal certainty is what, in many cases, leads to "conflict" between landlords and tenants. "Landlords and tenants share a common interest: that the system works," Muñoz affirmed. "Without landlords, there is no supply; without tenants, there is no one to request housing."

Salvador Illa announced on Monday an initial aid package to address the effects of the war in the Middle East on the Catalan economy. Specifically, on Tuesday the Catalan government will approve the mobilization of €400 million in direct aid, tax breaks, and financing instruments to protect the country's businesses and families. The aid will focus particularly on transportation, agriculture, and fishing, the sectors most affected by the war, and the package is expected to be expanded depending on how the conflict evolves. This set of measures is in addition to... the protections deployed last week by the Spanish governmentThe aid that the Government plans to allocate to the economic sector, which will amount to up to 216 million euros, will be conditional on companies wishing to participate preserving jobs. The main pillars of the aid are an expansion of two financing lines between the Department of Economy and Finance and the Catalan Finance Institute (ICF), direct aid to the agricultural and fishing sectors, and tax exemptions. Business advisory and promotional services are also planned. The plan announced by Salvador Illa includes allocating 154 million euros to accelerate the energy transition and sustainable mobility. Regarding social aid, as the president explained at a business conference organized by ExpansionThe measures will be aimed at ensuring that the most vulnerable families can cope with food and energy expenses. To this end, the Catalan government will mobilize up to €30 million to create an open line of aid for families and to offer support to municipalities by reinforcing emergency social assistance, for example. Coordination of temporary layoff schemes (ERTEs) due to force majeure with the Spanish administration is also planned to protect job stability. "I make an explicit appeal for everyone to act in the general interest and the common good," said Illa, who demanded "responsibility" from large companies and the financial system.

"The members vote to decide who will represent them, and that's unique in the world. It's a wonderful thing about our club. Thank you, Barça," said Joan Laporta after being declared the winner of the club's presidential elections. Barça members renewed their confidence in Laporta. The leader of Defensem el Barça (Defend Barça) obtained 68.18% of the votes, defeating Víctor Font, who fell short with 29.78% of the vote. In absolute terms, Laporta garnered 32,934 votes, while Font received 14,385. Blank votes represented 2.04% of the total. After a whirlwind campaign of just one month, Barça fans opted for Laporta's continuity model, who in recent weeks has focused his entire discourse on explaining how he has led the club's economic recovery over the last five years. Font's proposals, therefore, were not enough to convince the members, and the plebiscite he so fervently called for ended up turning its back on the "change" spearheaded by the Nosotros (Us) movement. Laporta will begin his third term at the helm of the institution.

The election campaign for the presidency of FC Barcelona has now ended. The day of reflection comes after candidates Joan Laporta and Víctor Font spent Friday carrying out their final campaign events to win over undecided voters. The promises, proposals, and projects now remain in the minds of the club's supporters, who will have to decide on Sunday whether to re-elect Laporta or opt for the change proposed by Font. The final day of the campaign served to deliver the last messages and tie the finishing touches to an intense month of events and commitments, culminating in a closing ceremony for each candidate. It was a way to honor and thank the numerous volunteers who supported the projects, from collecting signatures to providing logistical support for the presidential hopefuls. Joan Laporta chose La Pedrera for his final event. The president, seeking re-election, gave a nod to the centenary of Antoni Gaudí's death at a party that brought together 250 friends. To shouts of "President, president," Laporta indulged in one last bask in the adulation of the crowd, during which, as he admitted, he would eventually become emotional.

Carles Planchart (Arbúcies, 1965), Albert Puig (Cambrils, 1968), and Francesc Cos (Terrassa, 1965), all three with a history at Barça and extensive experience in the world of football, are Víctor Font's picks for the club's sporting director position. All three advocate for maximizing the potential of Hansi Flick's current squad, emphasizing that the club already has excellent professionals working there, but that "more professionalism" and "better communication and coordination between the three key areas" are needed: the transfer market, performance – which includes everything from medical services, physical conditioning and injury prevention to nutrition – and La Masia.