Unemployment stood at 12.8% in the fourth quarter of 2012

The data from the labour market in the Basque Country from the fourth quarter of 2012 showed that there were 885,800 individuals in work, which was a net decrease of 19,400 compared with the previous quarter (-2.1%), according to Eustat data. Furthermore, the unemployment rate for the Basque Country stood at 12.8%, one percentage point up on the third quarter of 2012.

As a consequence of the evolution in the population in work and unemployed, the activity rate stood at 54.1% in the fourth quarter, six tenths lower than the previous quarter.

The decrease in the number of individuals in work affected above all men, with 11,700 fewer in work than the previous quarter, whilst the number of women in work fell by 7,700. Employment was down in the three provinces: in Bizkaia it fell by 7,900, followed by Álava, where it was down by 6.500 and lastly, Gipuzkoa, which had 5,000 fewer individuals in work.

The population in work in the Industry sector fell by 9,400, the services sector was down by 7,700, agriculture by 1,200 and, lastly, construction by 1,100.

The employment rate, the percentage of individuals in work between the ages of 16 and 64, stood at 61.4%, 1.3 percentage points down on the previous quarter. This figure stood at 65.1% for men and 57.5% for women.

By province, the highest employment rate turned out to be that of Gipuzkoa, with 64.3% and a decrease of 1.1 percentage points compared to the previous quarter; this was followed by Álava, with 61.1%, 3.2 points down; lastly, Bizkaia had the lowest rate, with 59.7% and a fall of 0.9 points in the last quarter.

The number of salaried individuals with a permanent contract fell by 7,500 and stood at 563,600, whilst those on a temporary contract (including those without contracts) fell by 7,900, totalling 165,300. The number of self-employed individuals decreased by 3,900 with respect to the previous quarter and stood at 156,900.

In the fourth quarter of 2012 it was estimated that there were 858,600 households in the Basque Country (700 more than the previous quarter) a third of which did not have any active individuals. In just over five out of every ten households, all of the active individuals were in work, 8,700 families down on the previous quarter; moreover, there were 44,900 households where all active individuals were unemployed (5.2% of the total), 2,000 up on the previous quarter.

Unemployment rate, from 11.8% to 12.8%

The unemployed population in the Basque country, that is, individuals who are available for work, actively making enquiries and seeking employment, was estimated to be 130,200 in the fourth quarter of the year, 9,600 up on the previous quarter. The number of unemployed men, 72,100 individuals, increased by 4,700, and the number of unemployed women increased by 4,800 in the fourth quarter, and stood at a total of 58,000.

The data for the fourth quarter of 2012 revealed an unemployment rate of 12.8%, one point more than the previous quarter. The male unemployment rate rose to 13.2% (1.1 percentage points up) and the female rate stood at 12.4% (1.1 % percentage points up). The youth unemployment rate continued to be the highest, and stood at 39.3%, affecting 15,000 active young people between the ages of 16 and 24.

By province, the greatest increase in the number of individuals out of work was in Gipuzkoa (+3,900 individuals) where the unemployment rate stood at 9.7%. In Bizkaia, the figure rose by 3,800, with 81,100 individuals out of work and the unemployment rate stood at 15%. In Álava, there were 1,800 more unemployed individuals than the previous quarter and the unemployment rate stood at 11.7%.

According to EUROSTAT –The Statistical Office of the European Union-, in November 2012 the unemployment rate of the European Union-27 stood at 10.7% and that of Spain stood at 26.6%.