Spain’s labour market loosened in the third quarter, in the way that happens when more people look for work than find it. Employment rose by 73,600 to 22,852,600, but unemployment rose by more, up 95,900 to 2,591,200, lifting the unemployment rate by 31 hundredths to 10.18 percent, the national statistics institute INE reported. The active population grew by 169,500 to 25,443,800, and the activity rate rose to 59.52 percent.
The composition matters more than the headline. Full time employment rose by 244,400 while part time employment fell by 170,800, and salaried employment rose by 90,000, split between 22,100 more permanent contracts and 68,000 more temporary ones. Private sector employment actually fell by 16,300 to 19,115,800, while public employment rose by 89,900 to 3,736,800, so the quarter’s net job creation was carried by the state. By sector, services added 235,600 jobs, while agriculture lost 58,300, industry 54,400 and construction 49,300.
Unemployment rose in every sector, led by services with 54,800 more, and the number of households with all active members unemployed rose by 21,800 to 786,100. The regional spread remains wide: the Balearic Islands had the lowest unemployment rate at 4.63 percent and Andalusia the highest at 14.91 percent, with Madrid recording the largest employment fall, down 49,200, and the Canaries the largest rise, up 38,100.
On a year on year basis the market is still tighter than it was: employment is up 465,500, or 2.08 percent, over the last 12 months, and unemployment is down 21,900. In seasonally adjusted terms employment rose 0.31 percent in the quarter and unemployment 0.14 percent. For euro area policy the print is a modest loosening signal from one large economy, arriving the day before an ECB decision that is expected to hold at 2.50 percent with December in play.