Unemployment registered in public employment service offices increased by 287 people in August in Aragon compared to the previous month (+0.6%) up to 51,108 unemployedaccording to data published by the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy. With the increase in August, two consecutive months of rising unemployment have already accumulated in the region.
This total number of unemployed is the lowest figure for the month of August since 2008. Since the beginning of the comparable historical series, in 1996, unemployment has increased most of the time in August in Aragon (23 times) while it has decreased 5 times. In the last year, unemployment has accumulated a decrease of 1,845 unemployed, which represents 3.5% less.
By sectorsUnemployment decreased in the Unemployed, 47 less (-0.89%), while it increased in Services, 129 more (+0.37%); Construction, 94 more (+3.24%); Industry, 64 more (+1.09%); Agriculture, 47 more (+2.62%)
At the end of the month, the sectors with the highest unemployment are Services (35,126), Industry (5,926), while the sectors with the lowest unemployment are Agriculture (1,843), Construction (2,998) and Previously Unemployed (5,215).
As for sexesOf the 51,108 unemployed registered in August, 31,434 were women, 17 more (+0.1%) and 19,674 men, which represents an increase of 270 in the number of unemployed compared to the previous month (+1.4%).
In August, unemployment among young people under 25 increased, with 7 more unemployed than at the end of last month (+0.2%), while unemployment among those aged 25 and over increased by 280 unemployed (+0.6%).
By provinceUnemployment decreased in Teruel (-74) while it increased in Zaragoza (+195), Huesca (+166). Catalonia (+8,707), Comunitat Valenciana (+3,459) and País Vasco (+3,298) were the communities where the number of unemployed increased the most, while Extremadura in the Canary Islands and La Rioja recorded the lowest growth, with decreases of 443,365 and 130, respectively.
Hiring
In August, 34,269 contracts were registered in Aragon, 1% less than in the same month of the previous year. Of these, 11,950 were permanent contracts, a figure of 3.6% less than in August of the previous year, and 22,319 were temporary contracts (0.4% more).
Of the number of contracts registered in August, 65.13% were temporary (compared to 61.18% the previous month) and 34.87% were of indefinite duration (the previous month was 38.82%).
Looking forward to
After learning about the unemployment data, CEOE Aragón explained that the labor market in Aragon has followed the expected trend. However, the general director, Jesús Arnau, indicated that, looking to the future, we must be “expectant about the evolution of the economy in the next quarter, that activity will increase, of which the labor market is a very important thermometer.” In this line, he alluded to the internationalization of the industrial sectorwhose external opening is linked to the evolution of the global economy.
He also advocated directing the unemployed and young people towards training in high-demand professions and occupations on the part of companies, as well as to achieve a better adjustment between supply and demand, for which social dialogue is considered essential.
Reactions also came from CEPYME Aragón. Its president, María Jesús Lorente, showed him concern about these data, particularly because of the rise in unemployment in industry“These figures remind us of the dependence of our economy on unstable sectors marked by seasonality, since they coincide with the end of many summer contracts linked to tourism or agriculture, as well as the need to bet on an industrialized economy.”
Lorente focused on the “negative trend that the industry is acquiring,” in addition to alluding to “the uncertainty generated by the continuous changes in labor regulations by the government” and the “bad news that affects companies in the industrial sector in our community” as destabilizing factors in the economy.
More protection for workers
The evaluations of the unemployment data for the month of August were also carried out by social agents. The CCOO Aragón union highlighted the importance of continuing with labor policies that reinforce the continuity of the rights of the working class that were not adopted in the previous legislature.
They also influenced the reform of the causes and costs of dismissal in order to regain its deterrent effect and repair the damage. Another proposal that the union organization has put on the table is the reduction of working hours.
The UGT Aragón also stressed the need to continue the path to stability started with the labor reformThe union recalled that Spain does not comply with the European Social Charter on unfair dismissal He therefore indicated that the State must adapt its legislation and that the severance pay is “fully compensatory for the damage caused”.
Other measures they considered appropriate were the recovery of salary wages so that a dismissal “is not so profitable for the employer.”
