Catalonia closed 2023 with a record number of employees. In the year it added 197,600, reaching 3.72 million, the highest figure in the historical series, according to the Active Population Survey (EPA) published this Friday by the INE.
The positive data has a but. The progress of the labor market slows down in the last part of the year: in the fourth quarter, barely 2,000 jobs were created and unemployment even increased, with 20,900 more unemployed. It has gone against the trend of Spain as a whole, where unemployment has fallen in the same period. The trend had already been reflected with a slowdown in unemployment and affiliation data, which account for month by month.
If the last quarter is compared with the same period last year, Catalonia has 20,900 fewer unemployed. The final photo leaves it with a total of 366,300 unemployed and an unemployment rate of 8.97%, the lowest for a year-end since 2007, sources from the Generalitat highlight.
In comparison with other autonomies, with 20,900 new unemployed from October to December, Catalonia was the third community where unemployment increased the most in absolute numbers, only with the Balearic Islands (33,600 more unemployed) and the Valencian Community (23,000 more unemployed) ahead. . On the opposite side, unemployment falls more sharply in Andalusia (50,900 fewer unemployed) and Madrid (25,800 fewer).
Of the 3.72 million people with work, 1.94 million are men and another 1.77 million are women. Among them the unemployment rate is higher: they support an unemployment rate of 9.74% compared to 8.26% for men.
Going down to the provincial detail, where the most jobs were created in absolute terms in 2023 was in Barcelona, with 190,700 more employees (7.3%). Lleida added 15,200 and generated it at a higher rate (7.9% year-on-year), while Girona lost 7,200 and Tarragona 1,200.
The lowest unemployment rate is recorded in Lleida, with just 5.42%. Tarragona is on the other side, with almost three times more (14.45%). In the case of Barcelona, unemployment is 8.44%, compared to 9.28% in Girona. All of them are below the national average (11.76%).
