05/02/2014
Unemployment figures for those registered with the state employment offices as seeking work are out for the end of January , the Valencia region registering the second largest increase in unemployment for the month across Spain.
Nationally, unemployment increased by 113,097 to 4.814.435, all of the autonomous communities with the exception of the Balearic Islands registering increases. In the Balearics unemployment fell by 480, the winter holiday season still creating good temporary employment opportunities.
The biggest increases in unemployment were in Andalucía (26.073), the Comunidad Valenciana (12.163) and Madrid (11.790).
The 2.22% increase in unemployment in Valencia brought the regional total to 559.523, but if the figures are compared to the same month last year, the numbers of unemployed have fallen by 26.897, a decrease of 4,59%.
By province, Alicante has 220.048 without work, which is 2.368 more than in December, Castellón a total of 61.234 an increase of 2.696, and Valencia 278.241, an increase of 7.099 from December.
By sex, of the 559.523 unemployed, 268.850 are male and 290.673 women, with 47.025 unemployed under the age of 25 and 78.028 foreigners without work.
The services sector, as is only to be expected in a region which has a high level of tourism activity, accounts for 349.013 of those currently unemployed, industry 84.878 and construction 70.097. However, construction is one of the few sectors which actually registered a slight recovery, the numbers of unemployed relating to this activity falling by over 1000 people. This is a trend which was echoed not only across the border in Murcia, but also nationwide, as some building work resumes. Banks with high distressed property portfolios, inherited from bankrupt constructors, and the Sareb, which has absorbed many of the assets left behind by the banking sector and property implosion, have both begun to complete projects which they believe can be sold once completed, creating new jobs for the first time in this sector since 2008.
Agriculture lost more workers in January to conclude the month with 20.180 and the numbers of those who have never had a job in the Valencia region rose to 33,355.
110,174 new employment contracts were issued in the region during January, but it’s interesting to note that only 9.276 of these were indefinite and 100.898 were temporary contracts, reflecting the continued reluctance of employers to issue permanent contracts.
Image: Queue outside employment office in Madrid.Copyrighted. Full or partial reproduction prohibited. Jasper Juinen Getty.
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