Prime Minister's Office of Spain : Recorded unemployment falls by 59,094 in December

In December 2011, the number of unemployed rose by 1,897 compared with the previous month.

In total, recorded unemployment now stands at 4,848,723. In year-on-year terms, the number of unemployed has risen by 426,364 (9.64%). However, when disregarding the temporary effect caused by the termination of non-professional carer agreements, this year-on-year change stands at an increase of 388,381 (8.8%) and recorded unemployment stands at 4,810,740.

Recorded unemployment fell in the agricultural sector by 3,092 (down 1.62%) and in the service sector by 49,438 (down 1.62%). The number of first-time job-seekers fell by 13,683 (down 3.58%). On the other hand, recorded unemployment rose in the industrial sector by 2,794 (0.52%) and in the construction sector by 4,325 (0.58%).

Unemployment among men fell by 8,321 (down 0.34%) compared with November and stands at 2,407,907. 50,773 women found work in December (a 2.04% drop in unemployment among women that accounts for 86% of the overall reduction in unemployment), thus leaving the total number of women out of work at 2,440,816.

Furthermore, unemployment among the under-25s fell by 29,738 (down 6.11% on the previous month), as did unemployment among the over-25s by 29,356 (a reduction of 0.66%).

Recorded unemployment fell in 13 autonomous regions, including Andalusia (down by 26,972), Madrid (down by 9,278) and the Region of Valencia (down by 5,204). However, recorded unemployment rose in 4 autonomous regions, led by Galicia (2,251) and Cantabria (523).

Unemployment fell in 41 Spanish provinces, including Madrid (down by 9,278), Jaen (down by 7,169) and Barcelona (down by 4,223). On the other hand, unemployment rose in 11 provinces, mainly in A Coruña (1,750) and Caceres (586).

The number of employment contracts recorded in December 2012 amounted to 1,058,501. This represents a decrease of 106,964 (down 9.18%) compared with the same month of 2011. In turn, the accumulated total number of employment contracts recorded in 2012 amounted to 14,240,991 (including domestic service contracts recorded between January and September 2012). This is 192,241 fewer employment contracts (down 1.33%) than in the previous year.

A total of 77,366 permanent employment contracts were recorded in December 2012. This is up 11,688 (17.8%) on the same month of the previous year. Permanent employment contracts account for 7.31% of all employment contracts recorded during the period. In accumulated terms (including domestic service contracts from January to September 2012), a total of 1,432,973 employment contracts were signed in 2012. This represents an increase of 322,810 (29.07%) compared with 2011.

The number of permanent employment contracts in December break down into 43,801 full-time contracts and 33,565 part-time contracts. The former have increased by 2,765 (6.74%) compared with December 2011 and the latter, by 8,923 (36.21%).

In accumulated terms, 2012 saw a total of 769,615 full-time permanent employment contracts signed (including domestic service employment contracts), up 12.22% on 2011. A total of 663,359 part-time permanent employment contracts were signed in 2012, up 56.32% on the previous year.

1,029,771 applications for unemployment benefit were processed in November 2012. This is an increase of 14.5% compared with the same month in 2011.

The number of unemployment benefit recipients at the end of the month stood at 3,001,078 (up 3.8% on the same month of the previous year). The rate of coverage by the unemployment protection system in November 2012 stood at 64.3%.

A total of 2,693 million euros were paid out in unemployment benefits in November 2012, an increase of 4.9% compared with the same month of the previous year.

The State Secretary for Employment, Engracia Hidalgo, said that "the reduction in unemployment is being felt more strongly in those groups and sectors that traditionally perform well in December: women, young people, first-time job-seekers and the service sector".

Engracia Hidalgo believes the slow-down in year-on-year unemployment growth is also worth highlighting. The figure has now fallen below 10% and is far from the all-time high of 12.5% that was recorded in May. "Unemployment has performed better in the last 6 months than it did in 2011; whereas unemployment rose by 300,000 in the second half of 2011, unemployment has increased by 233,000 in the same period of 2012".

However, Engracia Hidalgo highlighted the need to view the data from December with caution and to carefully monitor future unemployment trends over the coming months in order to assess whether or not the slow-down in unemployment growth recorded in the last 6 months is actually maintained.