Unemployment and temporary employment increase
Published: 8 October 2002
Figures for August 2002 confirm that overall unemployment in Spain (already the EU's highest) has started to rise, while year-on-year increases were recorded in the first eight months of the year, including August, which is traditionally a month of job creation. The high level of temporary recruitment continues and the level of open-ended recruitment remains practically unchanged.
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Figures for August 2002 confirm that overall unemployment in Spain (already the EU's highest) has started to rise, while year-on-year increases were recorded in the first eight months of the year, including August, which is traditionally a month of job creation. The high level of temporary recruitment continues and the level of open-ended recruitment remains practically unchanged.
Unemployment in Spain has been increasing in recent months (EU0206203F), and many analysts agree that the rising trend is being consolidated. In the 12 months to August 2002, the number of unemployed people increased by 92,995, thus continuing the tendency towards year-on-year increases that started at the beginning of the year - see table 1 below.
| . | 2001 | 2002 |
| January | -49,879 | 39,029 |
| February | -60,920 | 67,129 |
| March | -50,079 | 70,590 |
| April | -43,768 | 101,978 |
| May | -53,036 | 110,854 |
| June | -39,561 | 106,804 |
| July | -37,316 | 96,980 |
| August | -28,559 | 92,995 |
Source: UGT, based on INEM figures.
The number of unemployed people increased by 3,553 persons in August, thus breaking with the tendency for unemployment to fall in this month - due to job creation in tourism and seasonal activities - that has been typical since 1985, with the exception of 1990, 1999 and 2001 (when unemployment increased by 11,490, 3,501 and 7,538 respectively). Despite these exceptional years, the average fall in the number of unemployed in August has been 3,856 in the last five years and 12,764 in the last 10 years.
According toEurostat figures, the unemployment rate in Spain stood at 11.3% in July and August 2002, the highest rate in the EU (where the average was 7.7%). The rate had risen from 11.2% in June.
Furthermore, the recruitment figures for August 2002 indicate that the level of temporary employment is still not falling. There were 7,000 (-8.2%) fewer open-ended contracts concluded in August 2002 than in August 2001, and permanent recruitment thus made up a lower proportion of all recruitment than in the same month of 2001 (7.7%, compared with 8.1%) - see table 2 below.
| . | 2001 | 2002 | Change | |
| Temporary | 975,823 | 940,314 | -35,509 | -3.6% |
| Open-ended | 85,867 | 78,792 | -7,075 | -8.2% |
Source: UGT, based on INEM figures.
The number of temporary contracts signed in the first eight months of 2002 came to almost 8.5 million, whereas the number of open-ended contracts was less than 1 million. Some 148,000 more temporary contracts were signed than in the same period of 2001, whereas permanent recruitment remained practically unchanged - see table 3 below.
| . | 2001 | 2002 | Change |
| Temporary | 8,316,829 | 8,465,020 | 148,191 |
| Permanent | 847,606 | 849,374 | 1,768 |
Source: UGT, based on INEM figures.
The employment situation is thus deteriorating due to persistently high levels of temporary recruitment and the fact that unemployment has now started to increase. The August figures confirm the stagnation of the economy, because for seasonal reasons first-time job-seekers do not begin to seek employment until September. The 3,553 rise in unemployment in August brought the total number of unemployed people to 1,552,000, representing 8.55% of the active population according to figures issued in early September by the Ministry of Labour. The social partners are concerned about the negative development of unemployment in the course of 2002.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2002), Unemployment and temporary employment increase, article.
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