Indefinite contracts increased by 55.6% in the last year and accounted for 45.4% of the total, while temporary contracting decreased by 47.5%

MADRID, 2 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The number of unemployed registered in the offices of the public employment services increased by 2,618 people in February in relation to the previous month (0.09%) after the end of the sales campaign and driven by the growth of unemployment among young people, women and foreigners, according to data published this Thursday by the Ministry of Labor.

The Department headed by Yolanda Díaz has highlighted that the "slight" rise in unemployment registered in February, of "barely" 0.1% in percentage terms, reflects "the trend of stability in the labor market."

The rise in February of this year, the second in a row after that of January, contrasts with the decrease of 11,394 people experienced in February 2022, but is below the February average of the last 15 years, which shows an increase of 35,280 unemployed. Since the beginning of the comparable historical series, in 1996, unemployment has risen 13 times in February and has fallen 15 times.

After the rebound in February, the total number of unemployed stood at 2,911,015 unemployed, its lowest figure in a month of February since 2008, according to Trabajo.

In seasonally adjusted terms, registered unemployment decreased in the second month of 2023 by 6,345 people.

In the last year, unemployment accumulated a decrease of 200,669 unemployed, which is 6.4% less, with a drop in female unemployment of 96,427 women (-5.4%) and a drop in male unemployment of 104,242 men (- 8.2%).

Unemployment fell in February in the services sector, with 3,868 fewer unemployed (-0.19%); in industry, where it fell by 2,399 people (-1%), and in construction, which lost 2,392 unemployed (-1.07%). However, these decreases could not offset the increases in unemployment in agriculture (1,138 unemployed, 1%) and, above all, in the group without a previous job, where it rose by 10,139 people (4.1%).

Unemployment increased in February among women and fell among men. Specifically, female unemployment increased by 4,135 women (0.2%), compared to a drop in male unemployment of 1,517 men (-0.1%). Thus, at the end of February, the total number of unemployed women rose to 1,744,220 people, while the number of unemployed men totaled 1,166,795 unemployed.

By age, unemployment among young people under 25 years of age rose 11.8% in February, with 11,862 more unemployed than at the end of January, while unemployment among people aged 25 and over fell by 9,244 unemployed (-0 ,3%).

After the advance in February, the total number of unemployed under 25 years of age rose to a total of 215,366 unemployed. Despite this, it is its lowest figure in a month of February in the historical series, as stressed by the Department headed by Yolanda Díaz.

Registered unemployment rose in February in eight autonomous communities and fell in nine. The greatest increases were registered in Madrid (5,040 unemployed), the Canary Islands (2,726) and Murcia (1,583), while the greatest decreases were in the Valencian Community (-1,632 unemployed), Castilla y León (-1,542 unemployed) and Castilla-La Mancha (-1,309).

As for the provinces, unemployment fell in 36 of them, especially in Valencia (-981 unemployed), Asturias (-903) and Huelva (-852) and rose in the remaining 16 provinces, mainly in Madrid (5,040 unemployed). Las Palmas (1,746) and Murcia (1,583).

Registered unemployment among foreigners rose by 5,104 unemployed compared to the previous month (1.4%), until the total number of unemployed immigrants stood at 375,988, which means 13,275 fewer unemployed than a year earlier (-3.4%).

In February, 1,084,802 contracts were registered, 24.9% less than in the same month of 2022. Of all of them, 493,200 were permanent contracts, a figure that is 55.6% higher than that of February 2022.

In total, 45.46% of the contracts carried out in February were permanent, a percentage that exceeds that registered in January, when the proportion of permanent contracts was 44.16%.

Of the total number of permanent contracts signed in February, 230,635 were full-time, 32.6% more than in the same month last year; 141,305 were permanent-discontinuous contracts, multiplying by almost three the figure of a year earlier (196.9%), and 121,260 were permanent part-time contracts (27.2%).

Of all the contracts signed in February, 591,602 were temporary contracts, 47.5% less than in the same month of 2022.

In the first two months of the year, just over a million permanent contracts have been signed, 84.2% more than in the same period of 2022, and 1.26 million temporary contracts, 49.2% less.

The Ministry has also reported that spending on unemployment benefits in January (latest data available) reached the figure of 1,992.5 million euros.

Work has recalled that the benefits paid in January incorporated the rise in the regulatory base to 60% from the seventh month, compared to the percentage of 50% that had been applied since 2012 for the calculation of the benefit.

As a result, the average amount of the contributory unemployment benefit increased by 8.1% in January, from 893 euros in 2022 to 965.7 euros, which, according to Labor, "allows alleviating the loss of purchasing power" .

The average monthly expense per beneficiary, without including the agricultural subsidy in Andalusia and Extremadura, amounted to 1,071.1 euros in the month of January, which is 23.2 euros more than in the same month of 2022 (2.2%).

The total number of beneficiaries of unemployment benefits stood at 1,901,340 people at the end of the first month of the year, 2% more than in January of last year, with the coverage rate reaching 69.3%, "its highest level since 2012," according to Labor.

The benefit data is always one month behind the unemployment data, so the Ministry has published this Thursday the unemployment figures for February and the benefit statistics for January.