Unemployment drops by 1% in a slow July

The unemployment gap closed a little again in July, despite being one of the country’s main tourist periods. The number of jobless fell by 4,075 compared to June of this year (less than 1%) leaving a total of 387,313 unemployed.

The figures were reflected in all sectors, but mainly in the tourist industry. The Catalan Secretary General of Employment Josep Ginesta said that he was “cautious about the behaviour of the labour market despite the reduction in registered unemployment, and in September we will have to wait to see how many of these jobs consolidate throughout the summer months.”

The unions, in turn, warned once more of the poor quality and lack of stability in the employment created. In this sense, UGT emphasised that 79.19% of the reduction of unemployment in July was due to the decrease recorded among men while the number of unemployed women fell by just 848.

CCOO in turn, warned that the figures do not correspond to the low increase in the number of contracts, which are mainly temporary positions. Employers association Pimec welcomed the fall in unemployment in all sectors and took the opportunity to call for a “new labour reform to improve the imbalances shown in previous surveys.”