Spain and Catalonia continue to be European exceptions regarding the performance of the economy and job creation. With the data for March presented by the Ministry of Labour, Spain reaches for the first time in history the mark of 22 million Social Security affiliates, 3.4 million more than in 2018, when Pedro Sánchez arrived at Moncloa. In the case of Catalonia, the record was reached last summer, with 3.9 million affiliates, then it fell slightly and is now about to recover (3.88 million). Unemployment also decreased by 23,000 people in the State and by 3,777 in Catalonia. At the end of the month, we will have the data from the EPA survey and, therefore, a more accurate snapshot of the unemployment rate.

The pandemic was felt the most by those who were on a temporary contract, most often young people. The first outbreak of covid-19 made youth unemployment rates soar all over Europe, but this increase was especially marked in Catalonia, as shown in the report Youth situation in Europe. Social and work analysis presented Thursday by union UGT. The union compared the evolution of job security indicators for of young across the European Union and that the 4.8 percentage points it rose in Catalonia was only behind the 5.1 points by which it shot up in Estonia.