The latest unemployment figures for Spain, recorded in the summer of 2008, confirm the dramatic downturn in the country’s economy. Rising by almost 25% in the last year to 2.5 million people, Spain’s unemployment levels have reached the highest in the last decade. The service and construction sectors were among the worst affected, with job losses rising by as much as 70% in the latter sector.
Unemployment figures for August 2008, published on 3 September, have revealed the full gravity of Spain’s economic crisis. More specifically, the number of unemployed people registered at the Public Employment Service (Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal, SPE) reached 2,530,001 persons – the highest level since February 1998. In comparison with the results for August 2007, unemployment has increased by 24.7% or 501,705 persons. This figure is worse than the figures for the second quarter of 2008 published by the Survey of the Working Population (Encuesta de Población Activa, EPA) and confirms that the Spanish economic model is no longer able to assimilate those entering the labour market. According to the EPA figures, the number of unemployed people rose by 207,400 persons during the second quarter of this year, placing the unemployment rate at 10.4%.
General increase in number of jobseekers
The dramatic increase in unemployment recorded by SPE in August 2008 has affected all sectors of activity. In terms of numbers of unemployed people, the service sector was the worst affected, with an increase of 242,544 unemployed persons (20%), followed by the construction sector, which recorded a rise of 178,177 unemployed persons (71%) and industry, which reported a rise of 45,287 persons (16%). Moreover, the number of unemployed first-time job seekers rose by 17,514 persons (8.1%).
The SPE figures also showed that the increase in unemployment has affected more men than women. In the 12 months up until August 2008, female unemployment increased by 139,299 persons (11.34%), whereas male unemployment rose by 362,406 persons (45.31%). In addition, unemployment among immigrants increased by 14,086 persons (82.15%) during the same period.
Government defends economic situation
The rapid deterioration of the labour market has been compared to the adjustment period that followed the 1993 economic crisis. However, the government insists that the present situation is different to that of 1993, when unemployment rose mainly due to job losses; instead, it largely attributes today’s situation to the increase in the active population – mostly as a result of immigrants seeking their first job.
Spain’s occupied population now stands at over 20 million persons, compared with 12 million people in 1993, while the unemployment rate is 10.4% compared with 22% in 1993. The government therefore argues that the economy is now better placed to face a crisis.
Job losses concentrated in construction sector
In terms of the number of people covered by the social security (seguridad social) system, the figures show that the job losses are highly concentrated in the construction sector. In August, the average number of people covered by the social security system fell by 148,629 persons (0.77%) compared with the same month in the previous year. In the construction sector, it fell by 288,369 persons (15.25%) compared with August 2007, which was far higher than the decrease in other sectors.
Reactions of social partners
All of the social partners are concerned about the significant increase in unemployment levels and believe that the levels will rise even further over the next few months. The main trade unions, the Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (Confederación Sindical Comisiones Obreras, CC.OO) and the General Workers’ Confederation (Unión General de Trabajadores, UGT), have called on the government to implement the measures it had proposed to reduce the impact of unemployment on the economy.
Meanwhile, the government is working on a proposal for a thorough reform of the SPE in terms of increasing its efficiency in the training and relocation of unemployed persons. The proposal, which will be discussed at the Social Dialogue Monitoring Commission, would improve the employability of unemployed workers through active policies that combine training and employment.
Juan Arasanz, QUIT, University Autònoma of Barcelona (UAB)